Eventful Summer
by Harry50
Summary: "Dumbledore said that we shouldn't write to you so that the owls would not give out your address. I argued that you needed your friends as much as you needed the security, but he dismissed my words. Then I thought that neither he nor the enemy would be able to trace phone calls." (Harry,Hermione) Updated every other week.
1. Chapter 1

**1-First Date**

Despite what others thought, Harry Potter was not oblivious to girls. He just had too much on his plate to pay most of them any attention. Well, most of the time. When spending the summer vacation with his relatives he didn't really have anything to occupy him, and then his thoughts drifted, becoming very like every teenage boy's thoughts, and that meant – girls. Unfortunately, due to the conditions he had while living there, he could only think of girls but do nothing. Well, that was what he considered to be his situation.

He had enough time to think of girls and even day-dream of spending his time with them when being forced to stay in his room or while doing the boring chores his relatives required of him. At almost fifteen, despite the traumatic events during the school year, and especially the third task, his mind tended to drift from the memories that were still tormenting his dreams to much nicer thoughts, like Lavender's cleavage, or Susan's; Parvati's tight bum and her laughter; Ginny's shy smile whenever she caught his eyes. Yet no matter what he was thinking, he was eventually drifting to thinking about his best and most loyal friend – Hermione.

Harry had always been aware of Hermione being a girl, and a very nice one, as far as he could judge. Her bushy mane seemed to give her character, and her face was really nice, maybe even pretty. He hadn't minded her larger than normal front teeth, and after they had been shrunk a bit, her improved confidence made her look even prettier. She had certainly looked stunning during the Yule Ball. Ever since he found out he needed a date for the Yule Ball, Harry was berating himself in his mind that he didn't ask Hermione to be his date. He could only blame his lack of confidence, thanks to the way his "loving" relatives had been treating him since he could remember.

Thinking back, Harry thought he had always had a soft spot for Hermione. Even during the first few weeks at Hogwarts, before they became closer, he was fascinated by the bushy-haired bookworm, by her knowledge, her dedication, and her looks. Hey, as a boy he was supposed to notice girls' looks, wasn't he? Oh, he knew Parvati was considered prettier, Lavender was more sociable, Susan was well connected and Daphne (yes, he noticed Slytherin girls too,) was as beautiful and as cold as a marble statue.

None of that mattered, really. Hermione was a warm, passionate person that he liked. Being a pretty girl with a nice figure that was disclosed at the Ball seemed unimportant, at least for a while. Now, alone with the Dursleys, his mind seemed to focus on every minute detail about Hermione's look. He knew the way she was absent-mindedly moving stray hairs behind her ears. He adored the way she was concentrating, making her face really cute. He could certainly do without her nagging to finish his homework or study more seriously, although he couldn't fault her for trying to help him. Lately, when sitting near her, he also noticed the way her blouse let him see a bit of her chest when she bent down to show him something in a book or whisper over the Library table. He really liked what he saw.

He wondered why he didn't pay as much attention to Lavender, whose blouses were always open at least one button too many, showing much more of her much more prominent breasts than he could see on Hermione. Parvati had also let him have more than a glimpse at her breasts, that were much smaller, closer in size to Hermione's. None of them seemed to interest him as much as Hermione, though.

Then, there was Cho. He'd had a crush on her, captivated by her petite figure, pretty face and athletic figure. It didn't last, though. When he found she was dating Cedric, he realized she could never show any real interest in him. Yet what made him drop all thoughts about Cho was Hermione's expression turning stony whenever Cho's name came in a conversation. Hermione was too important for him to risk their friendship for a crush.

He kept wondering why he'd gotten no mail from Hermione since parting at the train station. The previous summers, Hermione had written to him about twice a week, at least. Three weeks had passed since they said goodbye for the summer and he was still waiting for her first letter. He didn't mind not getting a letter from Ron, though. Since Harry's name came out of the Goblet, Ron proved to be much less than Best Friend, much less than a friend at all; and he hadn't even properly apologized for his behaviour. Harry had no expectations from Ron any longer. He was still wondering about Hermione, though.

Like most mornings, he was actually left alone. Uncle Vernon was at work, Aunt Petunia went to visit and gossip with some neighbours and Dudley was just sleeping in, as usual during vacations. Harry had his chores, of course, but he was doing them automatically, paying them no real attention. Doing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen and sorting the laundry were barely needing any conscious attention. Instead, his mind was drifting back to its favourite subject. He recalled Hermione's smile, her frowns, her rare laughter. He really missed her. He wished he could be with her, or at least talk to her. He wondered if she was even thinking of him during vacation.

He was brought out of his musing by the harsh sound of a phone ringing. The Dursleys didn't put their trust in new technology, so their telephone had an old fashioned mechanical ringer that had only one volume setting: loud.

He tried to lift the receiver as quickly as possible so that Dudley would not be awakened. "Dursley residence, Harry speaking," he answered, hoping that neither his aunt nor his uncle would be angry at him for answering the phone. They usually preferred to completely ignore his existence and pretend he wasn't there, except for the chores.

"Harry? I was hoping you'd be able to answer. I'm so glad you could!" There was no doubt about the identity of the person on the other end of the line. He could recognize her voice even while sleeping.

"Hermione? How come you're calling?" As much as he liked talking with her, this was the first time she called.

"Well, Dumbledore said that we shouldn't write to you so that the owls would not give out your address. I argued that you needed your friends as much as you needed the security, but he dismissed my words. Then I thought that neither he nor the V person or any of his followers, would be able to trace phone calls."

"It took you three weeks?" He couldn't believe she was so slow to realize that. Oh, he was probably whining a bit, but she stayed out of touch for that long, so he had a right to whine, hadn't he?

She sounded apologetic. "My parents took me on vacation to Greece two days after returning home, so I really had no chance to do anything about that. We've only returned home yesterday."

That sounded more like Hermione. "Oh, and how was Greece?"

"It was wonderful, and I learned so much there. I'd like to tell you all, but I think we should meet for that. Can you leave the house?"

He shrugged, although she couldn't see it. "As long as I finish my chores, they couldn't care less about what I do. When and where would you like us to meet?"

"Well..." There was a moment of silence, and Harry could almost see her face getting the "thinking" expression that he always loved to watch. "I don't think we should meet at your relatives' house or at my parents' due to security. No need to attract attention to either place, you know. We could just go to London and meet there."

"I don't have Muggle money to go there, and I don't think my Aunt would give me any."

"You could just use the Knight Bus, the way you did before the third year. Just walk some distance from your house before summoning it."

"I wouldn't like to be seen at Diagon alley either."

"We can meet somewhere else. How about… Piccadilly Circus? I can wait for you there, near the fountain, and there are always many people there, so nobody will notice two more teens."

Harry liked the idea. It only took them a bit longer to set the time before they hung up. It was just in time, as Harry could hear Dudley's thunderous descent on the stairs only a minute or two later. As expected, he served his cousin a sizeable breakfast, waited for the fat boy to eat his humongous meal and then did the dishes. His aunt returned home as he was almost done with that.

"Have you done your chores?" she asked sharply.

"All that you asked me to do this morning. I'm going out for the rest of the day."

"Good! The less we see of you, the better."

Harry chose his best-looking clothes before he left home, walked for ten minutes to one of the main roads and lifted his wand.

The triple-decker bus appeared moments later. Harry was a bit apprehensive of meeting the same people as two years earlier, fearing they would recognize him. He didn't need to worry. The day crew was different, and his baseball cap hid the famous scar well enough to make him unrecognizable. A short while later, after a just as bumpy ride as the first, he dismounted at Piccadilly Circus.

It was evident why Hermione chose such a place for their meeting. There were hundreds of people wherever he looked. No Death Eater would be able to follow him there. He was barely able to move in the dense crowd, making his way to the fountain that wasn't quite in the middle. He wondered how he would be able to find Hermione in the crowd.

It took him a few minutes to circle the fountain. He didn't find Hermione, but she found him. "Harry! I'm so glad you could come!" she said as she hugged him tightly. Harry had always liked her hugs, and since she got breasts, he liked them even more. Hermione didn't mind to press her front to his body, and Harry suspected that she liked it just as much. He also suspected that she was not wearing a bra, judging by the softness he was feeling. His teenage mind was starting to imagine what that meant, but his good friend wouldn't let him dwell on it.

"We first need to buy you some decent clothing," she said, taking his hand in hers.

"I don't have money, you know," he objected.

"I'll pay. You can pay me back at school, no problem. I just don't want people to think it's a pity date."

"We're dating?" That was certainly news for him.

She blushed. "Well… Not exactly… Still, people who see us together, only the two of us, may think that way."

Harry wasn't sure what got into him to make him ask, "Do you want us to date?"

Hermione's face turned redder and her eyes looked at her feet. "It doesn't matter right now. Come, I don't want us to waste all the time on shopping."

An hour later, Harry was dressed in much fitter clothing and had two more sets of clothes in his shopping bag, along with the clothes he'd been wearing earlier. Hermione also insisted on buying him new trainers, after noticing that the ones he was wearing were practically falling apart.

"We can have lunch now," Hermione told him. She directed them to one of the many food outlets nearby, where they had a modest lunch. Unaccustomed to eating out, Harry let her select the servings. She passed him some money under the table, so he could pay. While waiting, she talked about her vacation in Greece, like any enthusiastic teen would tell about it.

With lunch over, they walked along Piccadilly street until they reached Hyde Park. Harry didn't remember how that happened, but somewhere along the way, he found his arm around her waist and her arm around his, her head leaning on his shoulder. He decided that he liked it. None of them seemed to mind that walking that way was much slower.

They found a secluded area at the park, where they could talk without worrying about being overheard. Harry sat on the ground, leaning on a tree trunk while Hermione lay on the lawn, resting her head on his lap. By the time they left the park, Harry couldn't remember what they'd been talking about all afternoon, but he was certain that this was one of the best afternoons in his life, maybe even **the** best.

They found a small restaurant near the park, and Hermione insisted on them having dinner there. Once again, she passed him the money so he could pay. Harry felt a bit awkward about it but appreciated her cooperation in making him feel better about the money. Still, when they left the restaurant, he felt in her debt. "Maybe I can go to Gringotts and change some of my money," he suggested.

She gave it a thought. "I think you should refrain from being seen in magical places. Besides, I've almost run out of magical money. If you have enough, we can exchange some so both will gain from it."

He shrugged. "I don't mind. I still have most of what I took out of my vault last time. I didn't have much chance to spend it."

"Can you bring a hundred Galleons next time so I'll exchange it for pounds? That should suffice for a while."

"Sure! When do you want us to meet again?"

"I can't come tomorrow, but we can meet the day after. Let's meet at Hyde Park corner," she suggested.

"That's fine with me."

Harry escorted Hermione to the train station, where he got another tight hug for his effort, along with a kiss on his cheek, and then took the Knight Bus back to Little Whinging. By the time he reached home, his relatives had already retired for bed, leaving him a list of chores for the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

**2-Dementors**

They continued meeting this way for two more weeks. Harry enjoyed these meetings, spending time with his best friend and getting to know her under different circumstances. He suspected his feelings were growing further than mere friendship, but he wasn't sure what it meant and didn't dare push, for fear of losing this very precious friendship. Somehow, his other "best" friend wasn't even mentioned and Harry didn't miss him at all.

Hermione seemed upset when they met to celebrate his fifteenth birthday. "Dumbledore sent a message, asking me to move to a safe house in London. He didn't even mention my parents, as if they weren't even there. I don't like it."

"Don't go, then. He has no right to dictate where we spend our vacations."

She looked at him with some surprise. "Yet you let him tell you where to stay, don't you?"

Harry moved his hand in the gesture of "what can I do?" and added, "I don't really have much choice about that, do I? I mean, the Weasley wouldn't do anything against what Dumbledore says. Where else can I go?"

"You can come and stay with me. My parents will be glad to get to know you. They only met you briefly before the second year and didn't really talk with you."

"Why should they even be interested?" he wondered.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Really why? Don't you think that as parents, they'd like to know my friends, especially one I call 'my best friend'? As much as they trust my judgment, they still like to know some more about people I'm with."

"Well… In that case, I suppose I can stay with them for a while," Harry reluctantly agreed.

They left the subject alone. Hermione had a plan, just as Harry knew she would, and they visited some fun places and did fun stuff: the London Eye, lunch on a Themes tour boat, Madame Tussauds wax museum, and more… Just before dinner, they visited an elegant shop where Hermione bought him a nice suit. She then had reservations for a musical show after the early dinner, and both teens loved it.

Two days later, when they met again, Harry had a lot of questions, mainly about various historical characters seen at the wax museum. Hermione took him to a nearby public library, where he could find all the information he wanted, along with some anecdotes, to make it more fun. Once again, he returned home quite late.

Something wasn't right, that was clearly evident. Even before reaching Privet Drive, he could see many agitated people on the street, some clearly magical. It was one of those – a tall black man wearing an earring – who noticed him first. "Mr. Potter! Where have you been? We've all been worried sick about you."

Harry tried to look as innocent as possible. It wasn't too difficult since he really had no clue about what the matter was. "I've left home as soon as I finished my chores and spent the rest of the day in London, mainly in a library. Why? Is there a problem?"

The tall man sighed. "I'd better let Dumbledore talk to you. Come, he's in the house."

The Dursley house seemed to be cordoned by Police. Only when coming closer did Harry notice that they were not regular policemen. Although wearing regular uniforms, each seemed to also hold a wand, barely hidden in their sleeves. The tall man showed a document and was let pass with Harry. There were more people in the house. He couldn't see any of the Dursleys, though.

"Harry, my boy," he heard the headmaster's voice from the kitchen. He turned to look there, noticing that Dumbledore seemed tired and looked as old as he really was.

"I've just returned from London. Is there any problem?" There sure was, judging by the faces all around.

Dumbledore waved him to a chair and summoned some tea. "Earlier today I got a very disturbing message. Mrs. Figgs told me that there were Dementors in the vicinity. I sent some friends to check this over and then came here as soon as I could. Alas, we all came too late, so it seems. The Dementors found an open window and came in here. I'm sorry to say that they kissed your aunt, your uncle and your cousin. All three are now soulless bodies, due to soon die, and there's nothing we can do for them." The old man paused, as if to let Harry absorb the information, before he went on. "We were extremely worried when we couldn't find you anywhere. I knew you could produce a Patronus, but the Dementor attack could also be intended to let others kidnap you."

Harry shook his head. "Well, I was in London. I've just arrived back, using the Knight Bus to the centre of town and walking back here."

He could see Dumbledore frown, as if this was something he didn't approve of. Then the old man's face returned to normal. "You weren't supposed to leave this place, but evidently, it turned for the best. Now, I wonder where you could stay for the rest of the summer, as you can no longer stay here. With your aunt gone, the blood wards will fade in a matter of days."

Harry could see that Dumbledore was very unhappy with the situation, although he didn't seem to mind the victims too much. Truthfully, Harry didn't care for them either, yet he felt bad for losing the last connection to his mother, as bad as that person had been. Still, he expected Dumbledore to care more for people, even if they had no magic in them.

"Why don't you go to your room and pack everything, so you'll be ready when we can find the right place for you," Dumbledore told him.

Harry wanted to say he could go to Hermione but then thought better of it. The farther he kept her from this kind of attention, the better, so it seemed. He just pointed at the cupboard under the stairs. "Can you unlock that? My trunk is in there."

A very young woman in Auror robes came at his side. She waved her wand at the lock and mumbled a spell to open it. She then moved forward to open the cupboard and help Harry take the trunk out. She bent down to look for the trunk. Unfortunately, she saw more than the trunk. Too late, Harry realized that she could see his first "bedroom" in all its glory (or gore).

She still acted professionally, helping Harry take the trunk out, before turning around, her face becoming thunderous. "Dumbledore!"

Harry knew what he could expect, and knew just as well that the old man would somehow make the others agree that it was all "for the greater good" or such other nonsense. He just took the trunk up the stairs and into his room, where he started to pack everything into it, trying not to think of what had happened in the house earlier.

With everything packed, he scanned the room once again, to make sure he left nothing, also rechecking his secret place under a loose floorboard. He then thought that he should let Hermione know what had happened. The main phone was in the kitchen, near where everybody seemed to concentrate, but there was another extension in the master bedroom. With his relatives in the state they were, he didn't think they would mind.

Harry opened the bedroom door and looked inside. The room was empty. He didn't know where his relatives were taken to, but they weren't there. He just moved to the telephone and dialled. He wasn't sure yet how to tell her, but didn't really want to keep it a secret either. He needed her to know. He needed her to support him.

"Granger residence, Hermione speaking," he heard.

"Hermione, it's Harry. I've come here to complete chaos. Are you sitting down?"

"I am now. What is it, Harry? You make me worry."

He took a deep breath and then plunged in. "It looks like some Dementors visited here. My relatives were all kissed. There are Aurors around, and Dumbledore is here, contemplating where to send me now. I didn't tell him anything about you. I only said I visited London. I'm not sure if he needs to know about that. Besides, like you told me about him not caring about your parents, he doesn't seem to care about my relatives, only that the protection here is no longer valid and I need to go elsewhere. Doesn't he have any feelings for people just as human beings, only for magical folk?"

Hermione sighed. Harry knew that it was very difficult for her to think badly of any authority figures, despite their experience with some. "Maybe you shouldn't tell him yet. Just let me know where you end up. Maybe I can join you. Now, I suggest we hang up before anybody notices this."

Harry hung up. He felt lucky he'd not talked for longer, as somebody was coming up the stairs. Harry just stood at the bedroom's door and looked in, as if contemplating the fate of his relatives. The person on the stairs finally noticed him and came to his side, as it reached the landing. It was the young Auror. She put her hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I'm sorry Harry. I know they weren't very nice people, but they were still the only family you had. You'd better go down now. I'll bring your trunk."

There were too many people involved, and Harry didn't know most of them. Still, after a while, he was grabbed by one, who side-along apparated him to London, to an area he hadn't visited before. A few others came along seconds later. One showed him a piece of parchment on which he saw the headmaster's distinctive handwriting, "_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._"

"Read quickly and memorize," he told Harry

Harry had a lot of questions, but he knew this was not the time nor the place to ask them. He just lifted his eyes from the parchment and suddenly saw another house coming into view. He had no time to look any more, as they were all marching quickly towards that house. One opened the door and they all walked in, keeping silent and stopping just a few paces beyond the door.

Harry looked around him. He first noticed the people who were escorting him. He recognized Remus Lupin, his previous professor and the man who had apparated him, Mad-Eye Moody. This time, it was the real one, so it seemed. There was also that young Auror, whose hair was a distinctive pink. He wondered if that was a hair-dye or some magic. Then there was the tall black man whom he didn't know, but who looked quite kind. There were a few other people he didn't know, but as they were all part of what Harry assumed to be some kind of organization in common with Dumbledore, he supposed he could trust them to a certain measure.

He then looked at the interior of that house, noticing that it was in a very bad condition. It looked like the house had not been lived in and not cared for, for quite a few years. He then heard some stepping and saw a man coming down the stairs. It took him a moment to identify the man as Sirius. He wanted to rush forward, but somebody held him in place and another put a finger on his lips, signalling for silence.

The man on the stairs reached the group and noticed Harry. He opened his arms for Harry to step in while raising a questioning brow at Moody, who only pointed at another door and stepped through it, with the others following.

They were evidently in a kitchen. Moody waved his wand, lighting some more torches to make the place well lighted. Sirius sat down, making Harry sit at his side, before turning to Moody. "Not that I have any objections, but what caused this unexpected visit?"

Moody growled. "Dementors. Kissed the whole family. Luckily, Harry wasn't there. He came back as we were checking the vicinity, trying to find any clue for what happened to him." He then turned to Harry. "Where were you, lad?"

"For the last few weeks, I've been going to London two or three times a week. I visited museums, parks, libraries, theatres and even went to the cinema once. It's fascinating there, and much more interesting than spending my whole time at Privet Drive."

"Didn't the headmaster tell you to stay there?"

Harry shrugged. "My relatives didn't want me there and I didn't care for their company."

"But the headmaster..." Moody started, only to be cut off.

"...has no say in where my godson should spend his vacations. He's not his guardian. I am, and the Dursleys were his Muggle guardians until today. He can only advise, at most." Sirius sounded very firm.

Moody seemed to deflate. "I suppose you're right. Still, as our leader, we should listen to him."

Sirius chuckled humourlessly. "Letting me rot in Azkaban for twelve years and denying me a proper trial doesn't make him a very good leader, does it?"

He turned to Harry. "Are you alright? Have you had dinner?"

Harry smiled faintly. "I'm fine. I ate dinner in London, before going back, although riding the Knight Bus after a meal may not be the best idea. When I came back, I found the place flooded with strangers."

"Did you bring your stuff here?"

"I packed it all. I think somebody brought it here." The pink haired Auror nodded approvingly.

Sirius looked at her. "I suggest you check the attic and the cellar, in case they kept anything from Lily there. The Muggle Police shouldn't find it."

She nodded. "I'll go handle it at once." She promptly left, and Harry could hear the front door creaking open and close.


	3. Chapter 3

**3- Girlfriend**

Sirius wanted to hear some more, but there was not much anybody could tell him. They still spent the time talking, discussing variable scenarios of how things could have happened and what Harry's presence could have changed. Harry was just glad not to have to confront the Dementors once again. He had already had enough of them.

Sometime later, Dumbledore arrived, looking even more tired than before. He quickly turned to Harry. "My dear boy, I suggest you stay here for the rest of the summer. This house is well protected and is the best I can currently offer for your safety. You must promise me you'll stay here and not wander anywhere."

Harry got stubborn. "Am I a prisoner?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Of course not. It's just for your protection."

Harry didn't accept it. "If not, then I'll take all the precautions I can, but I won't stay locked in here. London is a big city with millions of citizens. As long as I stay away from magical places, I'm just another teen boy who interests nobody." He then turned mischievous. "I may even need to take my dog for a walk two times a day, you know."

Sirius burst laughing, but Dumbledore seemed disappointed. "This is no laughing matter and I strongly advise you against it, even if you go out with some escort."

Harry turned serious again. "We both know it, and we shall both be careful, but it's our lives and our decisions, not yours, headmaster."

Dumbledore sighed. "I can see that the events were a bit too much for you. I visited the Burrow on my way here and suggested to Molly to move her family here for the rest of the summer. You could both enjoy some company and they will have some better protection until we can upgrade the wards on the Burrow."

Sirius didn't seem pleased. "Since this is my house, I think it's my prerogative to decide whom I invite here and when. Please remember this, Albus, and make sure Molly remembers, or she'll be back at the Burrow much earlier than anticipated."

Dumbledore looked like he'd swallowed a very bitter medicine. "I'll make sure she understands."

Harry also had something to say. "Shouldn't we care for Hermione's family just as much?"

Dumbledore sighed. " Since her parents are Muggles..."

Harry cut in, "...that means they are in even greater danger than the Weasleys, not having wards on their house and business and not having any way to protect themselves. Shouldn't we care for them too?"

Dumbledore seemed surprised but relented after a short moment of thought. "I'll ask Hermione to come here too and offer her parents to ward their home. Since their daughter is a witch, I can legally apply wards there. I can't legally do it at their business."

"What's the difference? It's still the same people, and I'm sure you can find a way to justify warding their business too. Hermione has told me that she used to spend many days there, reading her books. It's a home just as much as their house," Harry insisted.

Dumbledore sighed again. "I'll try to do as you say." He then changed to his jovial facade. "Now, as we've all had a tiring day, I suggest we all retire for the night. I'll visit the Grangers early in the morning, hopefully before they leave for their business."

Harry was really tired. Sirius showed him to a nice bedroom and he soon fell asleep, yet his sleep was plagued by many dreams. In his dreams, Aunt Petunia was a loving and caring aunt who doted on him, until the Dementors came. He saw her sprawled on the floor, still breathing, but with no spark of life in her eyes. In another dream he saw Hermione sitting for a meal with her family, when three green beams came through the windows, killing her and her parents. He woke up several times, covered with cold sweat. He really hoped that the headmaster would be able to protect his love.

It was morning already when he noticed how he was starting to think about Hermione – his love. Thinking back, he finally realized that their relationship had long passed the limits of friendship, becoming more intense and deep as they grew up. He also thought of what that word – Love – meant for him. He couldn't remember being loved by his parents, or any adult for that matter, but he knew how loving couples acted and how they proceeded to build a family. He thought he would really like to make a family with Hermione, raise children with her and live together the rest of their lives. He wasn't sure if he was old enough to think like that, but he still felt that way.

Despite his late night and his nightmares, Harry woke up quite early, anxious to hear from Hermione. "You don't have a telephone here, do you?" he asked Sirius, who seemed to wake up even earlier.

"My mother wouldn't even hear of such a Muggle instrument coming near her house," Sirius said, "but I think there's a public phone across the park somewhere. I wouldn't advise you to go there alone, though. I suspect there are some who watch this area. People know the general area where the Black ancestral home was located, although they can't find it now, due to the Fidelius charm."

"Is that why I had to read a note from the headmaster?"

Sirius smiled sadly. "Yes, I had to make him the secret keeper and allow him to use the house for his bird club. He has a way to make one feel bad if one doesn't do as he wants. I'm sure you've already noticed."

Harry nodded. While acting this way didn't make one a bad person, doing this constantly was a bit suspicious. Wasn't it better to persuade than to use guilt? Harry wasn't sure he liked the headmaster's ways of doing things, even if they were "for the greater good."

Despite Harry's misgivings, Hermione arrived with Dumbledore shortly after he finished breakfast. She ran to him and hugged him, not as tightly as they had done the previous evening, "Oh, Harry, the headmaster told us the news. I'm so sorry! And yet I'm so glad you didn't have to fight the Dementors. I'm sure you would have done well, of course, but that doesn't mean you could have saved them. And then, had you used magic, it could have caused problems with the ministry."

Dumbledore intervened. "Actually, I need to know what you did yesterday, with as many details as you can recall, to make sure the ministry doesn't drag you to some kind of trial. Care to tell me?"

Harry shrugged, wondering how much he should tell. "As soon as I finished my chores, at about half-past ten, I changed and walked to the main road, where I boarded the Knight Bus. You can ask the crew there for verification. I left it near Kensington Gardens and walked to the Palace, to see the guards. I then walked idly and looked at shop windows until I saw a sign for a public library. I remembered seeing some historical stuff a few days earlier and wanted to know some more about that, so I went into the library..."

"Where he met me," Hermione said. "I spend some time there whenever I visit London. I was so glad to see Harry, after being kept apart since we started summer vacation." There was a tone of accusation in her voice, that Dumbledore seemed to become aware of.

"That was a necessity," he said, not sounding very convincing.

"Anyhow, I was so glad to meet him, that I took over. You know I'm quite bossy at times. We spent the rest of the day together, first at that library, then strolling the streets and finally at a nice restaurant, where we spent almost two hours before we parted. I can give you the name of that restaurant if you like."

Dumbledore lifted his hand as if to say that wasn't necessary. Harry took back the story. "I boarded the Knight Bus after seeing her off at the train station and got out of it at the Little Whinging shopping centre, and then walked about fifteen minutes to reach Privet Drive, where the Aurors were already swarming the area."

Dumbledore sighed. "That should stop whoever may suspect you to be involved. Still, I suggest you refrain from being seen anywhere out of here for a few days, at least. Preferably for a week. I'll see what I can do for you."

Harry still remembered the conversation from the previous night. "Have you put wards for the Grangers?"

Dumbledore smiled reassuringly. "I put the strongest wards that I can, and I'll ask a talented curse breaker to add some more within a few days. Hopefully, that would be enough."

Harry nodded approvingly. "Thank you, headmaster. I take my friends' security very seriously."

Dumbledore smiled back. "I'll leave you for now. I expect the Weasleys to come near noon. Enjoy your stay."

Harry really wasn't sure how he felt about that. While he liked the family, he had some reservations as well. Molly was way too overbearing and he wasn't sure how that would go with Sirius being the owner of the house. Then there was Ron, his first friend, his former best mate, but currently quite questionable. Harry wasn't sure if he could still tolerate Ron's jealousy and hotheadedness. They were somewhat acceptable at eleven, but not so at fifteen. Could they still be friends? He wasn't really sure. There was also the question of his relations with Hermione. He had not yet confessed his love to her, although he felt quite sure it was reciprocated. How would Ron take that? How would Ginny? He had never been close to her, but he was aware of her crush on him. She could be offended, although he didn't want that.

"Why don't you show your girlfriend to her room, the one adjacent to yours, and then spend some time in the inner courtyard? It would be more difficult to get any alone time when the house gets fuller," Sirius teased them lightly, yet none protested. Harry considered it a good sign. "And you may use magic freely inside the house. It's well warded against the ministry finding of that."

Hermione's room was very similar to his, containing a large bed, a dresser, a desk with two chairs, a few empty shelves on the walls and some paintings of flowers. Hermione noticed something more. "What's this?" she asked, pointing at what seemed to be just wooden wall panelling.

Harry shrugged. Hermione took her wand and cast "Alohombra." They heard some clicks and then a handle appeared. She pulled the handle, making the whole panel move like a door. There was no trick there. The door just opened to the adjacent room – Harry's. Both teens blushed at the implications, before Hermione said as a matter of fact, "It's good to know that I can easily reach you in case you suffer from nightmares." She gave it another thought and added, "We shouldn't tell anybody about this, or it may reach Mrs. Weasley, and you know how she is..."

Harry nodded, and she pushed the door close. The handle disappeared immediately, making it all look like a part of the wall again.

They then went out, to the inner courtyard. It was just the size of a large room, surrounded by walls on all sides, but there were a few plants there and a bench that they had to clean a bit before they could sit on. It was still nicer than spending the time indoors.

"Are you really my girlfriend?" he asked.

"Only if you want me to be," she answered seriously.

"I think I'd like that very much. Will you be my girlfriend?"

She beamed a smile at him. "How can I refuse when you ask me so nicely? Sure, I'll be your girlfriend for as long as you'll have me."

"For life?" He wasn't sure why he asked that. He didn't even plan to say anything like that.

She paled. "Harry, that's too serious to ask as a joke. Are you sure that's what you want?"

Harry felt like some other force was controlling him, but not against his will, In a way, it was just forcing him to act as he really wanted to, but was not confident about. "Yes, Hermione. I've realized that I love you and that I want to raise a family with you, to grow old with you. While we may be too young to fully commit, that's how I feel now. What do you say?"

Her eyes seemed to swell with tears. "Oh, Harry! I didn't think you'd ever see me as more than a good friend, so I kept my hopes low. Now – it sounds like a dream come true. Yes, if you want that, I'll be yours for life and beyond. I love you, Harry!"

They moved closer, their faces aligned and they kissed for the first time. It didn't really change much. There were no sparks, no lights, nothing one could notice. What really happened there could not be seen, yet both teens felt it very strongly. They were no longer two lonely individuals; they had now become a couple in the most basic way, of promising to be for each other for as long as they lived, promising love and support for each other, and… well… promising to share the physical side of their love as well, although that was still in the future.


	4. Chapter 4

**4-Confrontations**

Harry wasn't sure how long it lasted. It could have been seconds or hours; time didn't seem to have any meaning. It still ended too early, as some noise reached them through the door they had left open. Hermione grimaced. "The Weasleys have arrived."

Not caring for being caught in a somewhat compromising situation, they stood up, smoothed their clothing, and walked back in. None of them noticed that they were holding each other's hand quite tightly.

Mrs. Weasley was the first to see them. She didn't seem to pay any attention to Hermione, as she grabbed Harry in a bone-crushing hug, forcing him to let go of Hermione's hand. Harry was glad that he was no longer so short as to only reach her bosom. He would have suffocated, had his head been forced there.

"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry for what happened to your family," Molly said, tightening her hug.

"My relatives," Harry corrected, barely able to breathe. "I've never felt like they were my family."

She didn't pay his words any attention. She then held him at arm's length, checking him over. "You're still too skinny. I'll take care of that," she said, finally letting him go. She then noticed Hermione.

"Oh, it's nice to see you here, dear. How are your parents?"

Hermione couldn't help grimace at the way Molly was addressing her. Luckily, the older woman didn't seem to notice. "They're fine, thank you. I only came here to be with my friends."

It was evident to Harry that she almost said "my boyfriend," correcting herself on the last moment. Molly stayed oblivious, though. "Sure, dear. It's very important to spend time with your friends."

Harry thought that it could be nice, had she used the same idea concerning him and Ron, dismissing Dumbledore's idea of "protection," that didn't seem to help his relatives, in the end.

Molly moved aside, finally letting the youngsters meet the others. Ron said, "Hi, mate," as if they just parted a few hours earlier. "I didn't know Hermione would be here," he added.

"Why not? She's my friend too," Harry said, thinking that Ron could never be such a good friend, regardless of the new relationship.

Ron shrugged it off as unimportant. "How did you manage to escape? Nobody told us anything."

"I just wasn't there. As my relatives didn't like me near them, I made a habit of going to London every other day. I was in London when they were attacked, so it seems."

"You could have come to visit us," Ron suggested.

"You could have invited me if you wanted to," Harry shot back.

Ron seemed uncomfortable. "Dumbledore forbade it. He said our owls could be traced, and besides, you needed the space to get over what happened last school year."

"He was completely wrong. I needed friends and supporting company to get over it, and there are more methods to send messages than owls."

"Yea? Like what?" Ron was not one to back out easily.

"You could use Muggle mail, you could use a telephone, you could ask one of your parents to apparate you. I'm sure there are some more methods if you really wanted to stay in touch with me." Harry was just as unwilling to give up.

"But Dumbledore said..."

"He had no right to keep me uninformed or to keep my friends away from me. He's the headmaster at school, but we're on vacation, if you didn't notice."

"Mum wouldn't let me do anything against Dumbledore's orders," Ron all but whined.

"Tough for you, mate," was all that Harry would offer.

Harry only had time to exchange greetings with the twins and Ginny, who seemed extremely self-conscious once again, before their attention was grabbed by the loud tones from the kitchen, where Sirius seemed to be in disagreement with Molly.

"This is my house, if you haven't noticed, and I'm the one who sets the rules. You may accept them and stay, or reject them and leave. I will not tolerate you starting to handle this house while ignoring me. Is that clear?" Sirius was barely keeping his temper in check.

"I will not be spoken to like this, young man. The headmaster said we could live here while our wards are being checked and updated. I didn't imagine anybody would overrule me!" Molly wasn't easily deterred.

"Tough luck," Sirius chuckled. "You're a guest in my house and should act as a guest, and the most important rule is to never offend your host. Had I made myself clear enough?"

"I'm going to speak with Dumbledore about this," she said in a menacing tone.

"I've already told him that I'm the owner of this house and you're my guests. Try to overrule me and you'd be sent back, or just thrown out." While Sirius didn't doubt Molly's intentions, he disagreed with her methods. He remembered just too well his own overbearing mother and how she compared to Lady Potter, James's mother, who accepted him into her house at sixteen, setting a very different atmosphere and achieving better results, in his opinion. Harry had already heard some of it, although he was quite eager to hear some more.

With Molly put in her place, Sirius started assigning rooms. Although they hadn't talked about it, Sirius seemed aware of the tension between Harry and Ron, He assigned all the Weasleys rooms on a different floor than Harry's and Hermione's. His own room was adjacent to Harry's. The room assignment didn't endear Sirius to Molly. She thought that Harry and Ron should share a room, as should Hermione and Ginny. Sirius explained that he had enough rooms to let each have even two rooms, but she just wouldn't listen.

It only got worse after that. Molly wanted to make lunch for them all, only to be informed that it was Kreacher's job. Although that house-elf seemed not to like any of those present, he still had to obey explicit orders. He'd already made breakfast for Sirius and Harry, which Harry found very good. Hermione, though, felt like she shouldn't take part in what she considered slavery. Sirius took her aside and explained. "House elves are not normally slaves, unless their masters are really bad. House elves need their master's magic to survive and enjoy working for their masters. Even the most abused house-elves wouldn't like to be set free, as that's worse than killing them. Without masters, they would lose their magic, turn insane and die slowly and painfully. I'm sure you don't intend that fate for them."

Hermione was appalled. She then thought quickly. "What about the one Harry tricked Malfoy to set free? He seemed to like that." Harry, who wouldn't part from Hermione, was also interested.

Sirius wasn't sure. "Have you seen him lately?"

It took Hermione a moment to find the memory. "I've seen him a few times at Hogwarts and he looked quite pleased, especially when he could do something for Harry."

Sirius proved to think just as quickly. "He may have bonded with Harry, then. The bonds between wizards and house elves may take various forms and most don't need any ceremony. Harry may not even be aware of the bond."

"How can we know?" she asked.

Sirius turned to Harry. "Will he come, if you call him?"

Harry shrugged. "He did say I could call him whenever I wanted. I can try to call him now. Dobby!"

It took less than a second for the small house-elf to appear in front of them. "The Great Harry Potter called Dobby! What can Dobby do for the Great Harry Potter Sir?"

Sirius could barely stop himself from chuckling. Dobby was clearly adoring Harry in a way that looked quite funny. Harry, though, grimaces at the way Dobby addressed him, before asking, "Dobby, we were talking about the bonds between wizards and house elves. Sirius mentioned that there are several types of bonds. Are you bonded to me?"

Dobby seemed surprised by the question. "Of course, Harry Potter Sir. Whenever a wizard helps a house elf, especially if there's danger involved, a bond is created between the house elf and the wizard. Dobby is now proud to be a Potter house elf. Dobby only wishes that the great Harry Potter Sir would give him some more to do. Dobby, like all house elves, needs to keep busy. Idleness makes us sick."

This made an idea pop in Harry's mind. "Could that be the reason why Kreacher seems to be so… unbalanced? He had nothing to do since his mistress died until Sirius came here."

Dobby had no doubts about it. "Kreacher is a bad elf for not keeping the house well even if his master was away, but living alone with only a painting of a mad woman can make it even worse."

"Well, one of the first things I made him do was to remove that awful painting and burn it. He still hates me for that, but as long as the painting was there, he only listened to my mother's mad ramblings. Now he listens to me, even though he dislikes me," Sirius said. "Now, Dobby, do you think you can help us with Kreacher and influence him to behave better? He's quite old and stubborn. He may also need some help with the house, being so old, although he wouldn't say that."

Dobby nodded his head vigorously. "Dobby can do."

Harry took over. "Alright, Dobby. You may help Kreacher and try to make him change, but do it subtly and make him still feel that the house is primarily his responsibility and you're just helping your elder." Dobby gave it a thought and then didn't sound as enthusiastic. "Dobby can do, but house is in bad condition, needs lot of work. Kreacher should have known better."

Another idea popped into Harry's mind. "Dobby, do I have more house elves?"

Dobby looked at him with confusion, as if he asked if the night is dark. "Of course, Harry Potter sir. The Potter estate has many house elves and they're all eager to meet their master."

"Why am I always the last to know?" Harry whined, before taking control of himself. "How can I contact them?"

"You can call Twinky, the head house elf. He can call the others."

Harry sighed. The more he learned about the magical world, the more he found how little he knew. "Alright, Dobby. I'll do it later, Now, I suggest you find Kreacher and see how you divide the work between you two."

Dobby nodded in acceptance and vanished silently.

Half an hour later, when they all had lunch in the kitchen, Molly seemed close to bursting. Harry had no doubt that she wouldn't be able to keep silent until the end of the meal. Indeed, soon after Kreacher put the food on the table, she turned to Sirius. "Aren't you ashamed to keep slaves? And one as old as this one should be allowed to retire and live peacefully for the rest of his life."

Sirius stayed calm. "Didn't the Prewetts keep house elves? If I remember correctly, your parents had at least three, or that's what I was told."

"Well, they had, but I didn't keep any since I got married," she huffed.

"May I remind you that the Weasleys were too poor at the time to keep even one. Arthur's grandfather sold his last house elf to the Black family, if I remember correctly. I'm not sure, but it might even be Kreacher."

"Then it's even more time to let him retire," she insisted.

Sirius shook his head. Harry wasn't sure if this was amusement or desperation at Molly's behaviour. "Don't you remember? A house elf needs to feel useful. We may ask an old one to do only the less taxing tasks, assigning the more taxing ones to younger house elves, but if we force one to retire, he'd soon get ill and lose its mind. It started happening to Kreacher after spending too much time with only my mother's painting. I'm sure he'll get much happier once he accepts me as his legitimate master. My mother almost destroyed his mind with her bigotry."

Molly seemed to feel ashamed of not thinking of that, but something else was nagging in her mind. "If you let the house elves do all the cooking and house-keeping, what shall I do?"

Harry thought this was really the main point. Molly had been doing this for years. Without her chores, she felt useless.

Sirius seemed to think of the right answer. This was surely a situation no one had thought about. "Well… Let's see… I think you can supervise the children, making sure that they do their summer homework and reread their books, just to make sure they know all they need to know. I'll do the same for Harry and Hermione."

Harry was quite glad not to be under Molly's scrutiny. He saw Ron and the twins looking a bit anxious at the idea. Sirius had some more to say. "You may also help Harry with some shopping. His relatives had never bought him new clothes and his wardrobe is almost all rags, although I suspect that Hermione would know better what to buy and where in Muggle London."

Molly seemed to give it a thought. Harry knew this wasn't much, but it was meant to make some peace. In time, Molly would find some other things to do. A thought came into his mind. "Maybe we should all train in combat, just in case. I wouldn't like to be caught in a fight, but if I have to, I'd rather know how to fight and survive."

Sirius turned an appreciative glance at him. "We only have four weeks until school starts, but I'm sure we can do something for you. Actually, it may do some good to the adults too, remove some rust, so to say."

Molly huffed again. "Children should not go to fight!"

Harry responded this time. "None of us wants to go into fight, but we should still be able to defend ourselves and escape unharmed, don't you agree?"

It was almost funny, the way her face contorted as her mind tried to find an alternative. Clearly, Molly wanted her children to stay far away from any fighting. She also wanted them to be able to protect themselves, but that meant teaching them how to fight. Knowing her children, she had no doubt that they would be involved in fighting, once they learned enough. It was a dilemma that she could see no way out of. Eventually, she relented. "Yes, we should all train on defending ourselves in case of fighting." Her attention returned to Sirius. "Where can we all train?"

Sirius smiled. "There's a large, well warded and well-equipped training room in the basement. It can easily let us all train together. I'll have it cleaned at once and we can train after dinner, if you like. Maybe Remus can even help us a bit. He's among the best in defence."


	5. Chapter 5

**5-Getting It Out**

With lunch over, Ron seemed eager to spend some time with Harry. "How about a game of Chess?" he offered.

Harry didn't mind. He didn't really care for that game, especially since he was always losing. A nagging thought in the back of his mind suggested that he should be able to beat Ron at Chess, but that was too much of a bother and he didn't mind enough to put any real effort in that.

"May I watch?" Hermione said, not quite expecting an answer. She entwined her fingers with Harry's as soon as they left the table.

"I thought we could talk a bit," Ginny said, looking accusingly at Hermione.

"We can talk a bit later. It wouldn't take them long to finish a game, or even two," Hermione said dismissively. "Besides, I prefer spending my time with boys."

Ginny nodded, accepting her reply a bit gloomily. She then joined the trio in the parlour, where a Chess set was located.

They sat a bit apart. There were no additional seats near the table used for Chess, so the girls sat down on a sofa overlooking the game, but not very close. This seemed to be to the liking of the Weasley siblings.

"What's this about you and Hermione?" Ron asked as soon as they sat down.

"She's my best friend, you know," Harry answered evasively.

"I thought I was your best mate," Ron sounded offended.

"You were, before the goblet fiasco. Your actions then were wrong, especially for one supposed to be a close friend, and you haven't really apologized. I forgave you, but I can't forget." Harry knew this didn't sit well with Ron, as his reddening face showed, but he felt it was overdue to say what he really felt about that.

"But… but..." Ron tried to come up with some kind of rebuttal, to no avail.

"Look, Ron, I know our friendship is important to you. I also know that we all make mistakes while growing up. That's why I forgave so easily. On the other hand, the way you acted after the goblet spewed my name was not the way a friend should act, not even when having a serious disagreement. We may become closer again as time passes, or we may not. I can't know. You should be more aware of what you say and how you act nevertheless." Some of this seemed to seep into Ron's mind.

Harry tried to return to their previous subject. "While you didn't write and didn't stay in contact in any way, due to Dumbledore and your Mum, Hermione called me as soon as she returned from her vacation abroad with her parents. Whom would you feel closer to: a friend who stays in contact or one who doesn't?"

Ron scratched his head, not quite sure what to say. "I can see where you come from," he finally said. "Let's play!"

Harry was aware of the girls listening to their conversation. It wasn't really secret, and none of them kept their voices low. As they started to play, he noticed that the girls were conversing in hushed voices. They were still close enough for him to hear most of it.

"How come you're suddenly so close to Harry?" Ginny asked.

"It's not sudden at all," Hermione stated, trying not to tell the younger girl that it was none of her business. "We've been close friends since the first year, you know."

"You've been friends with Ron just the same," Ginny retorted.

"Not quite. Ron has never been very nice to me. Even after we became friendlier, he kept disregarding my opinions and my beliefs and belittling me almost all the time. He has some good points, occasionally, but not too often. Harry, on the other hand, was always there for me. Even when I was petrified, he kept visiting at my bedside, unlike Ron."

"How would you know? You were petrified at the time."

Hermione smiled. "I could still sense people near me. I sensed Harry many times. Ron came only the first day and went away after a short while. Harry stayed until kicked out."

"You sensed that?"

"Not exactly. I sensed his presence, but I couldn't know how long or how short it had been. Madam Pomfrey told me, after I was revived, about the many nights Harry sneaked in to stay at my side."

"What about your adventures, then?"

"They had more to do with Harry than with Ron, although Ron tried his best. The first year he had to sacrifice his knight in a Chess game, making him lose conscience. I continued with Harry until I could go no further, and then I went back to call for help. The second year I was petrified, as you know, but Harry found the note in my hand. Then, he was separated from Ron with that cave-in and went on alone. The third year, Ron was injured while Sirius tried to capture Pettigrew, so he could not help when we rescued Sirius. You already know how last year went."

Ginny lowered her eyes. She could see that Ron wasn't as close to Hermione as Harry, nor was he a good friend to either. "I hoped since before the first year that Harry would like me and become my friends, and much closer later. I… I love him."

Hermione shook her head, disappointed by the girl's lack of minimal sense. "How can you love him? Do you even know him?"

Ginny seemed offended. "Of course I know him. I read every book about him since before I could even read."

"Those books had never had anything to do with Harry. They are pure fiction, and not a very good one at that. What do you really know about Harry, the fifteen years boy sitting there?"

Ginny seemed to try hard to recall any piece of relevant information. She then sighed. "Less than I'd like to know. I've only seen him in the common room and at meals or when he visited the Burrow."

"You've not even spoken to him," Hermione reminded her. "Do you know what he likes, what he dislikes, what bothers him? Do you know how he behaves under different circumstances or how to get him out of some sour mood when he gets into it?" Ginny clearly knew nothing of it, and Hermione continued. "I've been with him through thin and thick, I've helped him when he needed a shoulder to weep on, somebody to just listen to him, somebody to cheer him up or someone to laugh with. And I still don't think I know everything there is to know about that young man."

Ginny looked her straight in the eye. "You love him." It wasn't a question.

Hermione's voice softened. "Yes, I love him. I think I've first fallen in love with him when he jumped on the back of a mountain troll, trying to save me. It only got stronger and deeper since, although I didn't think he would ever notice me as more than his friend. I should have known better."

Ginny frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hermione smiled. "I underestimated him. He notices much more than he lets show. I'm now also sure that he could be a much better student, maybe even better than me, if he decided to put any real effort into his studies. And he did notice me as a girl, not just a friend."

Ginny wasn't stupid. She could understand the clues. "You're dating? Since when?"

Hermione shrugged. "Some could say it started in the first year, you know. I believe he really started to look at me as a girl during last year, and the Yule Ball made it clearer. Then, for several weeks already, we've been meeting every other day in London. It was nothing romantic, you see. I just didn't think that he should be left to simmer alone after all that happened. These meetings made us much closer, I think."

"You still didn't answer my question," Ginny noted.

Hermione sighed for having to say it explicitly. "I think these meetings turned into dates without us even realizing that. Then, this morning, when I came here, Sirius referred to me as Harry's girlfriend. He didn't object. Later he asked me. I agreed."

"Wow! That's so romantic!" Ginny didn't keep her voice low any longer, and Ron lifted his head and looked questionably at her. She noticed her mistake and waved him off, as if they were discussing some juicy gossip. Ron shrugged and turned his attention back to the Chessboard. Harry hid a sigh of relief.

Ginny lowered her voice, but Harry was still able to hear most of it. "Of course, I wish I was in your position, but knowing all I know about you, I think you could make a lasting couple." She then frowned with some deep concern and sighed. "That is, if V… Voldemort doesn't destroy it. I really wish he hadn't returned, like the Ministry keeps telling us. It would have been so much easier..."

"It would. Well, Harry proposed we all train while here, and Sirius will bring Remus to train us. This could be both useful and fun." She had some uncharacteristic mischief in her eyes. "I suspect we shall use tickling and stinging charms in our training, Just imagine using them on your mother or your siblings..."

Harry could finally move most of his attention back to the game of Chess. He still wondered if it was wise to tell Ginny. And yet, they didn't want to hide their new relationship; they only wanted not to offend others or cause too much awkwardness. It seemed to work with Ginny. He wondered if telling Ron would go just so well.

After losing two games, Harry opted out. He was surprised when Hermione offered, "I want to try now. My Dad taught me a bit about Chess. I want to check this new knowledge."

Well, that certainly sounded like Hermione! And yet, not having some better option, he now had to sit where she had been sitting while conversing with Ginny. He wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but he could find no excuse to sit elsewhere.

"You can sit down. I promise I won't bite," Ginny told him.

Harry felt surprised. This was more than she had ever said to him, and she didn't stutter and didn't even blush too much. He just moved to the sofa and sat down, keeping some distance from the girl.

She lowered her voice. "Hermione told me. Congratulations. You look good together. Still, if it's not too much, I'd like to stay your friend, the two of you."

Harry's surprise only deepened. Ginny had certainly matured lately. He must have missed this, being so preoccupied with the tournament. She could be a good friend to them both, and he had a feeling she would be much more faithful than her brother. Besides, if for some reason things between him and Hermione wouldn't go as expected, he might consider her for dating. He really hoped this would only stay a hypothetical consideration. He really liked Hermione and wanted her to stay the most important person in his life. "Thank you, Ginny. I really hope things will go as we want to."

She smiled reassuringly at him. "How are you going to tell Ron?"

He sighed. "I'm not sure. Maybe I'll let Hermione handle him."

Ginny considered his answer. "She could probably handle him just fine, but I think it would be better for your friendship if you told him."

Their conversation was cut short by an indignant cry from Ron. "How did you do it?"

Hermione, looking very smug, replied, "I used a technique developed by a world champion to quickly win games. He was on a tour and was playing against tens of opponents at once, so he wanted to make the games short, especially with unsuspecting opponents. He then wrote a book about it."

Ron didn't seem to mind the book, He just wanted to win and make his position at the top, concerning chess, unchallenged. Hermione agreed. This time, she was evidently trying a different tactic. Both Harry and Ginny were now standing close to the Chess table, watching the game. At first, it looked like Ron was controlling the game, despite Hermione's smug expression. She then moved a piece that Ron hadn't expected, and then another. Ron started to sweat. A few minutes later he admitted to losing the game.

"Mind another one?" Hermione asked.

"Not now. I think I'm too hungry to concentrate," Ron said.

Harry smirked, covering his mouth with his hand. Ron was a sore loser. He rarely lost a game of Chess, but when he did, he never accepted his loss very well. Harry noticed that Ginny was also hiding a smirk.

Hermione's mind was going in a different direction. "Has anybody started doing our summer homework? We're past half the summer vacation, you know."

Ginny said, "Sure, I'm almost done with it."

Ron's reply was expected. "Oi! We still have half the summer. Why bother already?"

He didn't need to answer. Hermione had been making sure he was doing his homework on the days they hadn't met, and checked his work every few days. He only had to finish one essay to be done. Hermione had already finished it all, of course. He hadn't asked, but he felt quite sure she'd done it even before going to Greece.

That gave him another idea. "We still have some time until dinner. Why don't you tell us a bit about your visit to Greece?"

That seemed to be a good idea. Ginny was listening with total attention to everything about distant places; Ron wasn't so interested, but Hermione was also telling about the various foods there, and that was something Ron always had in mind. Harry was also glad to hear some details she hadn't yet told him, yet he was much more interested in looking at Hermione's face, noticing her fleeting expressions as she was telling her story. She skipped over some details she'd told him, mainly about the beaches. He knew that talking about topless women or nude beaches wouldn't go well with the Weasleys.


	6. Chapter 6

**6-Dinner and Training**

Dinner was another reason for disputes. As they moved into the dining room, Molly tried to arrange the seats. "Harry dear, why don't you sit here. Ginny, sit at his side, then Ron and Hermione, followed by..."

Sirius didn't like it. "Molly, this is my house. Everybody sits where they like and they can change at will. Nobody dictates any specific seating. I won't have it."

Molly huffed, her authority not accepted. As someone who always had her way with her family, she found it very difficult to relinquish control to anybody else. She still had to admit, if only to herself, that she had no authority in this house.

Sirius turned to Harry. "Would you like to sit by my side? I still had no chance to speak with you and your girlfriend. Of course, Hermione can sit at your side, if she likes."

Harry was glad to accept the offer. He was just worried about Sirius mentioning his girlfriend. Most of those present had not yet heard the news. Luckily, Molly was still trying to come to terms with the change in her position and paid no attention.

That wasn't true of the twins. Both had spent most of the afternoon in their room (Sirius had agreed to their request to share a room) and Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know what they were doing there, but they had heard Sirius and were now in full teasing mode. "So, our little Harrikins has a girlfriend? And who might that mysterious girl be? It couldn't be our little Ginny, could it? Then who could that be? Would he fall for a lovely bookworm? Why not. She's quite a looker. And also as smart as they get. But be careful to stay on her good side or..." Both shuddered theatrically. Harry and Hermione started laughing and Sirius seemed quite content. His imprisonment in his own house now turned into having a very nice company, so it seemed to Harry.

Yet not everybody was laughing. Ron looked at them with a hurt expression. "When were you planning to tell me? After graduation? Or maybe after the birth of your first child?"

This made the twins only laugh harder.

Ginny came to the rescue. "Ron, Hermione told me while you were busy with Chess. She would have probably told you a bit later, had we not been preoccupied with other stuff. I think that's quite nice, really. You should also congratulate them, I believe."

It took some more persuasion, but Ron eventually told them, "Everybody thought you'd become a couple before the fourth year. What took you so long?"

"It was mainly my insecurity," Harry told him. "I didn't think I was worthy enough to earn deeper feelings than mere friendship, and I appreciated her friendship too much to risk it for something I wasn't even sure of."

"And I felt the same," Hermione added.

"What changed, then?" Ron asked.

They looked at each other and shrugged. "Not much, really. It was just Sirius calling me his girlfriend that made us realize how that word fitted the way our relations were changing," Hermione explained.

Molly was finally paying attention. Her face showed that she was not content at all with the new changes, yet nobody seemed to mind her opinion while in this house. She sat at the table, as far away from Sirius as she could, with a thunderous expression. Her face became even sourer as she saw Dobby and Kreacher serving a big dinner, one she had no part in preparing.

They got all busy with the delicious meal. Harry had to admit that he liked it better than Molly's meals, although hers were also delicious. Of course, he didn't dare say it loudly. He was not the suicidal type, you know.

Remus joined them soon after they sat down. The young Auror that Harry had met the previous evening came too. She was presented as Tonks, no first name. She also brought a large cardboard box for Harry, found in his aunt's attic and containing some stuff salvaged from his parents' home after their deaths. Harry took it reverently to his room.

With dinner over, Harry and Sirius updated Remus on what they had in mind, and then the whole group went downstairs, to the training room.

At first glance, Harry thought that "room" was not the right term for that place. It was more like a large hall, about as long as five Hogwarts classes and almost as wide, with only a few pillars on the way. One wall was lined with various types of dummies and with targets, ranging from simple concentric circles to human size, moving targets. Another wall had various weapons displayed on it and more stored on a few shelves. There were several chairs scattered in the room, more than enough to seat all present. Sirius waved his wand, making the chairs arrange themselves in a group near one corner and asked all to take seats. He still stood, with Remus at his side.

"As Harry suggested, I'd like all of us to be ready for the fighting which undoubtedly awaits us in the near future. The youngsters need to learn a lot, while the adults need to shape up and retrain to be ready for whatever is coming at us. Some of you know Remus Lupin. He's a very knowledgeable person concerning defence and also served as a Hogwarts professor of the subject for one year. I'll let him train us all."

Remus started with some simple target shooting, to see how good an aim each had. Harry was surprised to find his aim was the best, with Hermione a close second.

"Another thing we must all be good at is evading spells. The best protection against a curse is not being there when it hits. I'll now have you pair off. Each of you should try to hit your partner with a stinging hex while evading being hit at the same time. We're going to rely on movement only, with no shields and no physical barriers."

Harry smirked when he saw Ginny paired with her mother. She would have a chance for revenge against whatever her mother did to her. Ron was paired with Sirius, and Harry thought that was quite fair, as they were about the same physical size and build. The twins were paired with each other, of course, and he paired with Hermione. Both decided to use tickling charms instead of stinging hexes. None wanted to cause pain to the other, even as part of their training.

At the sign, all started hexing their partners. Harry was quite good at moving out of the path of Hermione's hexes. Evading Dudley's gang proved beneficial in this case. She was much less agile, getting hit more times than she expected. The tickling didn't help improve her feeling. "It's just awful. I want to move quickly, but my body seems to move so sluggishly that your spell hits me before I have a chance to move. You must train me with that."

Actually, most others did even worse. The twins seemed to be the fastest, but they were also able to anticipate each other's movements, resulting in most of their spells reaching their targets. Molly's aim was good, but Ginny was too fast and unpredictable for her, making most of her spells only hit the walls. Ginny's spells reached their target, though. Molly's plump body was unaccustomed to moving quickly or changing directions abruptly, making her an easy target for Ginny.

Ron and Sirius seemed to be well paired. None was very agile, but both did about the same, evading roughly half the spells directed at them. Yet five minutes after starting, all the Weasleys seemed to be out of air, barely able to move any longer. Sirius was only in a slightly better condition. Only Harry and Hermione seemed just slightly tired.

Remus called them all to him. "I'm not impressed with what I've seen here. Most of you lack the stamina to get out of a fight. You need quite a bit of work to get in shape. I'd suggest about twenty minutes running – we can make a running track inside this room – each day. I'll also look for exercises to enhance one's speed. Both Hermione and Molly seem to need them badly. Now, after you get your breaths, I'd like us to talk about shields..."

For two hours, Remus made them work both physically and magically, trying to find each person's limits in all areas of concern. When it was finally over, all but Remus looked ready to fall into bed. He still reminded them, "I expect each of you to run for twenty minutes or more tomorrow morning. I suggest you do it before breakfast and then take a shower."

Tonks was present throughout the training but didn't take part in it. Harry heard her telling Remus when he was leaving the training room, "You're just as bad a Moody, but it looks like you're doing it right. Well, he's doing it right too, but in quite a fearful way."

Harry was glad he didn't have to share showers with the Weasley clan. He only shared with Sirius and Hermione, as nobody else had rooms on that floor. He liked it this way. They let Hermione shower first, followed by Harry and finally Sirius. Harry found his night clothes waiting on his bed when he came back from showering. He felt quite sure that Dobby had taken care of that.

Sirius knocked on his door as soon as he was out of the shower. "Goodnight, Pup. I'm glad you had the idea of training. Looks like we all need it badly." He roughed Harry's hair and went to his room.

Hermione knocked on his door a few minutes later. She was wearing her pyjama under her dressing gown. "I just wanted to say goodnight. Would you like to leave the door between our rooms open, so that I can easily hear if you're disturbed by a nightmare?"

Harry didn't mind. Hermione gave him a tender kiss for goodnight, one he reciprocated willingly, and then she used her wand to open the door from his room, leaving it open as she moved back to hers.

Harry fell asleep as soon as he went into bed. His day had certainly been full of excitement and actions. He didn't sleep peacefully, though. He woke up several times, not quite knowing what had awakened him, only feeling some deep anxiety. He was then woken once again as a gentle hand was rocking him out of a dream where Cedric was accusing him of causing his death.

"Harry, you're having a nightmare," Hermione said softly, her concern evident. "Care to talk about it?"

He was too sleepy to talk. "No. Just want to sleep."

"Then shift aside. I'll stay with you."

He wasn't thinking clearly, or he would have protested. He just moved a bit, making more room for her. The bed was really wide enough for two, despite being a single bed. Hermione moved closer to him until their legs touched. She took his hand in hers. "Goodnight," she said. "G'dni'te" he mumbled as he drifted back into sleep.

His sleep stayed calm until morning. He woke up feeling refreshed and happy. He also felt somebody pressed into him in a very pleasant way. He didn't need to open his eyes to know who it was. "Hermione? It's already morning. Why are you here?"

She was not yet awake. She just pulled his arm over her chest, as if trying to put the blanket back. "Need some more sleep," she said.

Harry wasn't sure what he felt, Hermione had positioned his hand on her chest, just below her breasts, between the two. While he couldn't see it, just knowing where his hand lay made his mind swirl and his body go out of control. He tried again. "Hermione, it's already morning and you shouldn't be found in my bed."

"McGonagall will understand," she responded, not yet awake.

"Hermione! You need to wake up!" he said more forcefully.

This seemed to work. Hermione stretched and turned around, still holding his hand in place. "Harry?" she seemed bewildered. "Why are you in my bed?"

He couldn't hold back a smile. "I'd say you're in my bed. I had a nightmare and you decided to stay with me."

She seemed to try to remember. "I did? Well, did it help you sleep?"

His smile widened. "Perfectly, but I don't think you want to be found in my bed."

She shrugged. "I locked the doors in both rooms. I also put some silencing spells on them, in case you talk in your sleep."

His hand was still held firmly in place and he felt like it was on fire. "Hermione, you're holding my hand there..."

She smiled. "It's over my heart, and we've already given our hearts to each other, so it's yours. I'm yours and you're mine. We shouldn't be shy of each other." She still blushed a bit.

"I think we should get up and start our day before somebody gets too suspicious. You wouldn't like..."

"What? What's the worse they could think of me? That I'm shagging you? I'm almost sixteen. Most of my classmates in the Muggle school have been shagging for a year or more. Even most of the girls in our class are no longer virgins. It's kind of expected of me."

"Do you really mean it?" Before she had a chance to answer, he continued, "I don't think it would help us if we make Molly angry, Ron jealous and give Sirius some more teasing material. Whatever we do should stay discreet."

She was now fully awake, and she appreciated his concerns. "Alright, love. I'll keep appearances. I'll go to my room to change and then we need to run a bit before breakfast, remember?"

"Sure, we need to keep in shape."

Hermione let go of his hand and stepped out of bed. He could now see that she was wearing a baby-doll pyjama of translucent cloth, leaving very little for his imagination. "Like what you see?" she teased him. "Had you let me stay longer in your bed, you could have also touched everything."

Harry gulped at the idea. "Maybe we should wait a little bit. Too many changes at once can get a bit overwhelming."

Her smile softened. "Of course, love. We don't need to rush things, and we have the rest of our lives to enjoy each other."

She still walked with some exaggerated movements of her hips until she crossed the room and went through the hidden door to her room, locking it behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

**7-Homework and Studies**

Half an hour later, after running laps around the training room and then showering quickly, they descended to the kitchen, where Dobby had a nice breakfast waiting for them. After spending that much energy, they ate with gusto, not wasting time on talking. Just staying near each other was quite good enough.

They were just finishing their meal when a very tired Molly came in, followed by a just as tired Arthur. Dobby silently brought them breakfast. It took Molly a few minutes to recover and really notice them. "You look fresh. Have you done your running, as expected?"

Harry put his tea down to reply. "Sure! We woke up almost an hour ago and ran for twenty minutes. We then had our showers, put on clean clothes and came here."

She frowned. "You did it all together?"

He shrugged. "Well, her room is adjacent to mine. She heard me wake up and I also knocked on her door to make sure."

Molly was still frowning. "Where are your rooms? I've not seen you on our floor."

Harry was glad of that. "Sirius put me in the family wing. When Hermione came, he gave her the adjacent room. He said only family and those permitted by the Head of House can even find that wing."

He wasn't quite sure of that, but it could help keep Molly out of his hair. The Weasley elders started eating silently. Harry and Hermione stayed, although they had finished breakfast. It was just politer that way.

"Have you started your summer homework?" Molly asked as she was reaching the end of her breakfast. Evidently, she remembered what Sirius said she could do. Some of it.

Hermione shrugged. "I've already finished mine. I may do some more reading after we get our new books."

"I have to finish one essay. It's more than half finished, but not fully so," Harry said. "I think I'll finish it this morning and then read some more about defensive spells and tactics. It could help us with the training in the afternoon."

Arthur stood up. "I need to go to work. The attack on your relatives seems to have acted like kicking a mound of ants. I'm helping the DMLE try to sort it out."

"Do you know how the Dementors came there?" Harry asked.

"Not quite. Somebody must have sent them there, that much is evident, but we still need to find who and why. It shouldn't take more than a few days, I believe." With that optimistic view, Arthur left the kitchen to make his way to the Ministry.

Molly sighed, looking like she was more prone to fall asleep than to start a new day. "I'll go wake the children up. They also need to exercise."

Hermione looked at Harry. "Let's go back to your room, so you can do as you said you would. I also like to check some charms in one of my books."

It was just like Hermione to say that. She made him feel light-hearted, as if all the problems of the world were already solved. He didn't even think when he moved a bit and captured her lips in a tender kiss. It was short and sweet, showing love, trust and pleasure in being together. As they parted, Hermione asked him with a twinkle in her eyes, "What caused this?"

He shrugged. "Just you being you. It makes me feel so good to know that we're together."

She smiled. "It makes me feel good too. Now, didn't we need to go to your room?"

She still went first to her room, grabbed a few books and joined him in his room, sitting at the desk on his left side, "closer to the heart," as he said.

Harry worked diligently for almost an hour. He then stretched a bit, waited for the ink to dry, and handed the parchment to Hermione for inspection. He then noticed the title of one of her books, "Useful Charms for the Active Witch".

"What's this?" he asked.

"Oh, just a few things that might come handy in the near future," she answered, her attention already on his essay.

Harry took the book and leafed through its pages. It was really meant for witches, dealing with make-up charms, hair care charms and figure adjusting charms, to name a few. He then encountered some more "interesting" charms, for contraception, fertility, period pains, birth pains and more of the kind. He felt his face heat.

"What were you looking for in this book?" he asked. He wouldn't have asked another girl, but he felt completely at ease talking with Hermione of whatever subject.

Her attention was still mainly on his essay, but she answered without giving it any thought. "Oh, I was looking for some contraceptive spells. I thought they may soon come in handy, now that we're together."

Noticing that she was not quite paying attention to her words, he quickly dropped the subject. She had already told him it was kind of expected, and he really liked the idea, but it also frightened him. What if he wasn't good enough for her? He could not stand the idea of disappointing her.

It took Hermione a few more minutes to finish checking his work. She only commented on a few missing commas. "This is really good work. I wonder why you don't show that much understanding in class."

He wasn't sure he had an answer to that, but he tried. "My relatives would punish me when I got better grades than Dudley, so I made sure to never show my full ability. Then I met Ron on the train. I didn't think he'd like me to outshine him. He's quite jealous as is."

Hermione didn't like his answer. "Your relatives had no right to punish you for doing better than their son, and Ron should shove his jealousy… you know where. Now that I can see you're able to, I expect my boyfriend to do his best, even if you surpass me. A bit of healthy competition couldn't hurt our relationship."

"Of course, dear," Harry answered like every good boyfriend.

He put his essay back and started looking for his DADA books. Hermione looked at him and got an idea. "Why don't you ask Sirius for some DADA books from his library? We may find some spells that don't appear in the textbooks and even some curses and counter-curses that could help us if we ever need to fight."

They found Sirius in his room, bent over a large ledger. He lifted his eyes at the teens standing at his open door, looking like he was pleading for mercy. "Would any of you like to check my accounts for me?"

He didn't really expect an answer. "What can I do for you two lovebirds?" he asked in a much livelier tone.

"I was thinking that there might be some DADA books in your library, ones that can't be found elsewhere or are just not taught at school. They may give us an edge if we encounter fighting," Hermione said.

Sirius rubbed his goatee, thinking. It took him a moment to reply. "Most of the books there are very dark, certainly not fit for your age, or any age for that matter. Some books are even cursed to hurt the reader. I need to hire a curse breaker to clear the library of such books before I can give you access, but your idea is sound. I'll ask Remus to have a look and see if we can find something suitable. It may still take a few days, at least, as we must be extremely cautious with the books there."

Hermione beamed a smile at him. "Oh, that's fine. We still have our school books. We haven't learned most of what's in them, so it may take us a few days to catch up. Thank you so very much!"

When they turned to go back to his room, Harry heard Sirius mumble, "So much like Lily..."

Dobby popped into Harry's room a few minutes later, carrying a tray with some drinks and refreshments. "Master and Mistress may need to strengthen themselves when studying so hard," he said.

"Dobby! I'm not your mistress! Why do you say I am?"

Dobby smiled, as if he needed to explain the obvious. "Haven't you and Master promised each other to be together for life? That makes you my mistress, even if not yet official. All Potter elves feel your connection to the family and will treat you as their mistress."

"I… I didn't know. I mean… I never thought I would have house-elves."

Dobby shook his head bemusedly. "I can see you's become the bestest mistress a house-elf can have."

Harry had different thoughts running in his mind. "How are you getting along with Kreacher?"

Dobby looked determined. "Kreacher old and stubborn, but Dobby keeps showing him the right ways, Kreacher likes Dobby's help but doesn't like Dobby's master. Kreacher will learn."

They were left alone for the rest of the morning. Harry hoped that Ron was also doing fine with his homework, at least due to Molly supervising it. Reading together, explaining to each other and practising wand movements and pronunciation, they barely felt the passage of time. They were actually surprised when Sirius came to check on them.

"Have you finished your homework?" he asked.

"I've done it all before I came here. Harry only had a single essay to finish. I checked it over when he did," Hermione told him.

"Would you like to show me your homework? Both of you."

Hermione went to her room to grab her work. Harry's was just there. Sirius started reading the transfiguration homework. He stopped at a point and concentrated, as if trying to remember something, and then smiled and continued. The teens looked at him, unable to understand the changes in his mood and his expression.

Finally, Sirius put it back on the desk. "This is some first-class work, Harry. It shows understanding not expected at your age. Where did you learn it all?"

Harry shrugged. "Most of it comes from Professor McGonagall. I try to listen attentively, and Hermione writes it all down, so I can check it later, if needed. I also read some of the reference books in the library. The weeks that Ron kept away from me turned very fruitful, as far as my studies are concerned."

"Is he really holding you back?"

"Not intentionally. He just doesn't like to put any effort into his studies. He's quite satisfied with a passing grade. I thrive to do my best, but I don't want to become a show-off."

Sirius was stern. "You don't need to be a show-off, but you shouldn't let him hold you back. Do like Hermione. With Voldemort back, you should take whatever knowledge you can, One can never know when that particular knowledge can become a lifesaver."

Harry sighed. "I know. I also promised Hermione to do my best, even if it means beating her at some subjects."

"It will only make me try harder," Hermione said

Sirius spent some more time checking their work, finding both excellent. "I think I even learned a bit from checking your homework. Good work, you two. You're making me proud. Now, I think we should head for lunch. Remus is scheduled for about an hour later, so enjoy it as much as you can before he comes."

The Weasleys were already at the table, waiting for them to come before starting the meal. The twins looked in a good mood and so did Ginny, but Ron seemed depressed and nervous. "How was everyone's morning," Sirius asked jovially.

"Brilliant!" the twins said.

"Just fine," Ginny smiled.

"Awful. Mum made me read a chapter in that boring book and then write it from memory in my own words. It was a nightmare, I tell you," Ron complained, making his mother frown.

"Ron, you know that we all need to learn in order to be able to get a job, earn a living and use our magic to its fullest. You can't achieve your goals without learning," Hermione admonished him.

"What good will potions or history do for my career at Quidditch?" he asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You can only play Quidditch for a few years before a younger player replaces you. Once out of the league, what will you do if you have no other knowledge? Wizards may live up to a hundred and fifty years or more, but a Quidditch career is rarely longer than ten years. What about the rest of your life?"

Ron looked as if this was completely new information for him. "I've never thought of it that way," he confessed.

"It's not too late to think of it and try to change," Hermione lectured. Ron grimaced, but Molly seemed content that somebody finally managed to put some sense in her youngest son.


	8. Chapter 8

**8-News**

The teens assembled in another room soon after lunch. "What did you do all morning?" Ron asked his two friends.

"Harry finished his Potions essay while I read about some charms. We then re-read some of our old DADA books, finding a lot of things we've not known before. Just shows you how well that subject has been taught," Hermione said.

Ron shuddered. "You two are mental, spending so much time on studies. We're on vacation. We're supposed to have fun, you know."

Hermione shrugged. "So, what did you do?"

Ron wasn't too happy with his story. "Well, Mum woke me up at nine and had me run around that blasted room for almost half an hour. I was dead on my feet halfway through, but she wouldn't let me stop. Said she'd done the same earlier."

Harry chuckled. "Yes, we saw her and your father coming for breakfast. They were a sight to behold."

"What about you? Didn't you do the same?" Ron spat.

"Oh, we did. I woke up at about seven. I knocked on her door to wake her up. We then ran as requested, showered and went for breakfast. We almost finished breakfast when your parents joined us." This was close enough to the truth without causing trouble. He then turned to Ginny. "How was it for you?"

"Awful. Robes are not meant for running, I'm sure. What did you wear for running?"

Hermione answered. "I have some running outfits. Dad likes me to join him on vacations, and he runs for an hour each day. Would you like to try some? We have similar measurements, I think, and we can adjust everything by magic, if needed."

"But under-age..."

Hermione didn't let her finish. "Sirius told us that the house is well warded and we won't get in trouble with the Ministry."

"But we may get in trouble with my Mum," Ginny said gloomily.

"What about you two?" Harry asked the twins.

"It's no worse than those workouts with Wood," Fred said.

"Although we didn't miss them this year," George added.

"And it would have been more fun..."

"Had Angelina and Alicia joined us."

"I still don't see why we need this," Ron whined.

"Think of it," Hermione said. "In a fight, you may lose your wand, break it or have it taken from you. If you can't move fast enough you're as good as dead, and the Death Eaters will just shoot spells at you as they like. Moving out of the way of their spells may be your only chance. If you're fast enough, you may be able to run away, or grab one of their wands or find another weapon, but not if you're stuck in place due to lack of exercise."

"It's still not fun," Ron insisted.

"Neither is fighting Death Eaters."

"And why did you read those old school books?" he asked, changing the subject.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Will Ron never learn? "You know how awfully we were taught DADA. Our first two teachers were a joke, Professor Lupin tried his best, but between our lack of knowledge and his own problems, he couldn't really bring us up to speed. No need to talk about the fake Moody. He could have actually been a good teacher, had he stuck to the curriculum, but he had another agenda, you know. That's why we thought it would do us good to read the books again and study all that we were not taught until now. We actually found some good spells there."

"Alright, if you say so." Evidently, Ron had enough of school stuff. He turned to Harry. "Want to play?"

"I'm not in the mood. Why don't you play with Hermione? She may be a worthier opponent."

Ron was unable to object, with his sister and the twins present. By their expressions, Harry was quite sure that Ginny had told them about Ron losing to Hermione. They seemed eager to see him lose again.

It seemed like Hermione was of the same mindset. She used the fast game strategy, beating Ron three times in quick succession before he had enough.

"Where did you learn to play that way?" he asked whiningly.

"My Dad taught me the basics and then gave me a few books. There's a lot of knowledge in books, you know."

Ron only grimaced.

\/\/\/

Remus arrived a bit later and started their daily training. This time, he let them work on shields, on aim and on power casting before reaching what they all dreaded – the evasion drills. Once again, Harry suffered the least hits, with Hermione second, followed by Ginny. Molly and the twins were still unable to dodge the spells aimed at them, making Remus frown.

"You must change your way of thinking if you want to succeed, or at least change partners," he told the twins. He let them try to dodge spells cast by Sirius. They did much better than against each other. That proved his point. He had no idea how to make Molly move better, though.

\/\/\/

They had guests for dinner that night. A very tired looking Dumbledore arrived just when they were getting ready for dinner, while Arthur and Tonks arrived when the first course was served. With everybody at the table, Dumbledore seemed eager to tell the news. "The DMLE found the person responsible for the Dementor attack. It was the Minister's Senior Undersecretary, one Dolores Umbridge. She wanted to get rid of what she called, 'a nuisance for the minister and the law-abiding citizens,' by having you, Harry, kissed. Luckily, the minister approved of using Veritaserum in this investigation. When questioned, Umbridge said that she did this for the minister, with his knowledge and his blessing. The minister claimed he didn't give any such order and would have never approved of it. Under the truth potions, he confessed of having been told of it but doing nothing to stop it, although he didn't order it. Both are now in holding cells, awaiting a trial that will be held the day after tomorrow. I suggest that you, as the sole heir of that family, claim damages. That will hopefully ruin both Umbridge and Fudge, giving you the political power to influence the Wizengamot in the right direction."

Tonks had some more news. "Under Veritaserum, Fudge confessed of all the bribes he got from Malfoy and others. We couldn't arrest all of them, but we got Malfoy and filled him with Veritaserum before he could even complain. He told us of some more bribes and their takers, along with some more interesting information about the Death Eaters and their master. I don't yet know how it will be used, but I hope it will help defeat the whole terrorist group."

Harry noticed Dumbledore glancing at his scar with some apprehension. He knew he would need to ask about it, but later, in private.

Due to the news, there was an emergency meeting of the Order of the Phoenix that night. The teens were all sent to their rooms, of course, although Harry thought that since he was in the thick of it, he had a right to be there. Yet this was not something he needed to fight for. Sirius had already promised to tell him everything that would happen in the meeting. Instead, he visited Ron's room along with Hermione.

Boy, was he glad he didn't have to share a room with Ron. The room looked as if a storm passed there, scattering clothes, dirty laundry, socks and whatever else all over the room. The only stuff that stayed in place was the school books. They all stayed in the trunk, unopened and unused. Evidently, Ron was not much of a reader.

They excused themselves shortly after they came, stating the early morning as a cause for being very tired. They ended in Hermione's room. She locked the door and silenced it first, then cast some spell on herself, and then turned to Harry. "Would you like to spend the night in my bed, this time?"

Harry felt awkward once again. "I'm not sure it would be wise. I mean… I'd like it, but… Sirius is bound to want to see me when the meeting ends. It would raise too many questions if I'm not there. He may even panic if he can't find me, so..."

"So you think it would be better if I share your bed, don't you?"

"That may also cause problems. Sirius…."

"...knows what I plan to do. I told him that I plan to share a bed with you for the rest of our stay here, at least. He just told me to be careful. He also mentioned the secret door, so that we can still pretend to be sleeping separately if we think it's better."

Harry finally smiled. "In that case, You're welcome. Just remember that I have no previous experience, so that you should teach me whatever you want me to do."

"Of course, love. I'll teach you all you need. I also expect you to teach me how to make everything better for you. I don't have any experience either."

They then kissed passionately. Hermione, though, wouldn't let them forget themselves. She stopped it after a while. "Do you want to watch me change, or would you like to go to your room and wait there?"

"I'd like to watch, if that's alright with you."

She smiled teasingly. "I've already told you that you may watch and even touch whatever you want. I hope you allow me the same liberty,"

"Of course," he said. Just the thought of her caressing his body, touching him, especially there, was almost too much to bear.

Hermione didn't let him wait. She quickly took her clothes off. Just as he had suspected, she was not wearing a bra. Her erect breasts didn't seem to need one. He looked with fascination as she removed her knickers, revealing a nicely trimmed triangle of brown hair pointing at the slit between her legs, that seemed to be free of hair. She turned around, letting him enjoy the view of her tight bum and her smooth back. She then bent down to the dresser, taking out a translucent nightgown while exposing her slit from a different direction. Harry could truthfully say that he enjoyed the views, all of them. She put on her nightgown and then grabbed a dressing gown and put it on as well. She then opened the secret connecting door and they both moved to Harry's room. Hermione locked the door and showed Harry two more locking charms and two silencing charms. She let him cast them under her supervision, before urging him to change into his nightwear.

With Hermione standing two paces away, wearing only a flimsy nightgown, Harry found it difficult to concentrate enough to even get properly undressed. While he removed his boxers – the last piece of cloth he was wearing – she removed her nightgown, standing naked and proud in front of him. Harry wasn't sure what to do, but he couldn't stand and just look. He took one step forward and hugged her. His mind went numb when he felt her skin touch his, but his mind was of no use at that moment, as was Hermione's. Ancient instincts came into play, directing them much better than words. Half an hour later, none of them was a virgin any longer. Both sported wide grins of satisfaction as they kept hugging and caressing each other long after they passed their peaks.

Those caresses had a certain effect on them, reviving their eagerness and their readiness. Soon enough they were uniting once again, reaching higher peaks than before. They only calmed down after their third peak, though. Hermione had the presence of mind to cast some numbing charms on her lower midsection before they cuddled into each other and fell promptly asleep. None of them even remembered the tell-tale red spots left on the bedsheets.

Sirius arrived a bit later, he tried to open the door, but found it well locked, resisting his "Alohombra". He then tried Hermione's door, getting the same results. He smiled to himself with satisfied mischief and went to his own room.


	9. Chapter 9

**9-Horcrux**

Time seemed to fly for Harry. He was enjoying his stay there so much that he didn't even miss going out. He did his morning runs either in the training room or in the protected courtyard, that wasn't much larger but was nicer when the weather was dry. He liked running with Hermione at his side. He liked doing everything with Hermione, really.

After a shower, and he was still resisting showering together, fearing the teasing this might bring, they took breakfast and then studied some more defence (and some offence, occasionally). Sirius and Remus brought them some books from the Black library, and these proved to be full of useful spells.

They met the Weasleys at lunch. Despite her reservations, Molly found that not having to do all the regular chores was quite nice and turned it into a kind of vacation. Ginny and the twins were also busy with their own projects, and Harry didn't ask questions he wasn't sure he'd like the answers to. Ron was another matter, though. As much effort as Molly put into making him study, as much as Hermione tried to persuade him, Ron was just unwilling to make any mental effort (or any effort at all, for that matter) to help him get better grades. Harry was starting to consider him a bad influence. He wasn't sure how long they could stay friends.

The afternoons were dedicated to training. Even Arthur tried to join these sessions whenever he could. Only Ron continued complaining. While others were improving, Ron stayed the same.

Harry tried to spend as much time with Sirius as he could, and that was usually after dinner, along with Hermione. He was actually surprised that except for a few comments. Sirius didn't really tease them. He seemed to accept their togetherness as given.

\/\/\/

Harry managed to speak to Dumbledore about a week later.

"Headmaster, is there something that worries you about my scar? I've noticed the way you were looking at it lately," he asked boldly.

Dumbledore looked grave. "Alas, my boy, the question you're asking is one that I can't currently answer. You'd better forget about it and just enjoy the remainder of the summer vacation." The twinkling returned to his eyes. "I've heard that you're now dating Ms. Granger. I can't say that I'm surprised. Actually, many expected this to happen much earlier."

Harry didn't need to be told that the headmaster was trying to divert the conversation. There was something about his scar that he needed to find, and he was adamant to find it.

He voiced his concerns to Hermione and Sirius. Hermione wasn't sure what they could do, but Sirius had a good idea. "This is a curse scar, so who would know better than a curse breaker? I've already hired one to check the library. He can start by checking you first."

\/\/\/

Two days later, their breakfast was interrupted by a knock on the door. Mrs. Weasley went to open it, and Harry could hear her from the kitchen. "Bill! I thought you went back to Egypt! What are you doing here?"

"I'm doing my job. Gringotts sent me here to check for curses. You know that's what I do for a living, don't you?" It sounded like Bill was smiling widely.

"Oh, never mind! Come join us for breakfast," Molly told him, not even noticing his mumbled reply, "I've already eaten."

Harry was glad to meet Bill. He was a cool guy and very knowledgeable. Harry was sure that the twins could also become such men, had they not concentrated on pranks and jokes. Bill noticed him and came to shake his hand. "I'm sorry for what happened to your relatives. I'm sure glad you escaped that same fate."

Bill didn't expect an answer. He just joined his family, drank some tea and waited for Sirius to join them. He didn't need to wait for long. Sirius looked like he'd just finished showering when he joined the group. He went straight to the point. "I need you to check the library and remove the curses from any cursed books. My ancestors used some very dark methods of protecting their knowledge. But first of all, I want you to check Harry's scar. Dumbledore wouldn't tell us why, but it seems to worry him, so it makes us worry even more.

"No problem. I only need Harry to lie down and not move while I conduct the tests. Where would be most convenient?"

Harry wondered if he should use his bed, knowing that sharing it with Hermione was bound to leave some signs, unless Dobby had already made the bed. While everybody might suspect their relationship had reached that stage, he didn't want to make it too evident, or Molly might start causing problems, at least until Sirius stepped in. He was also unsure about Ron's reaction. He was sure Ginny would only smile sadly and the twins would try to tease him while not offending Hermione too much. They seemed to be quite careful not to anger her.

Sirius solved his problem. "There's a comfortable couch in the parlour. I think it would do nicely."

Harry followed Sirius and Bill, with Hermione holding his hand tightly. Bill looked at the couch and nodded his approval. "Harry, please lie down and close your eyes. Miss Granger, please let go of him and take a few steps away. We don't want anything to influence the diagnostics."

They did as requested. Hermione sat on another couch, close to the wall. Sirius sat at her side, looking even more concerned than her.

Bill started chanting a long spell, moving his wand in complex forms above Harry. Some foggy forms seemed to appear here and there, that only Bill knew what they meant. He then concentrated on Harry's forehead, his frown deepening. It took him almost ten minutes to finish his scans. Bill sat down on a nearby chair and sighed. "That scar is some nasty work of evil! Dumbledore should have had it removed immediately! Luckily, it doesn't seem to affect Harry."

"What is it?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"It's some of the darkest magic. It's an attempt to cheat death and live forever. We find them once in a while in old tombs and there's a way to get rid of them without harming the carrier," He then smiled. "You know how greedy the Goblins are, don't you? They wouldn't let some dark magic stop them from acquiring a treasure."

He then turned serious again. "I'll need some help in removing it, though. The ritual needs at least seven participants. I'll ask Mum and the twins to help me."

"Why not Ron?" Harry asked. Despite his disappointment with Ron, he didn't want to give up their friendship.

"Do you think Ron can follow instructions precisely?" Bill asked. He didn't really expect an answer.

It took a few minutes for Bill to set up some tools, assemble the participants and give them the instructions. Sirius also brought an old spoon, as Bill asked for. They were almost ready when Dobby and Kreacher popped in. The older house elf spoke. "We's wanting to help remove bad magics. What can we do?"

Bill looked surprised. He consulted with one of the books he had in his bag. He then instructed the house elves, positioning Dobby at Harry's head and Kreacher near his feet. "I'm now going to petrify you, to make sure you don't move inadvertently even if you feel pains or urges to move. The Horcrux may try everything to prevent us from removing it."

Harry heard Sirius gasp, but nobody talked. Bill made sure that Harry was comfortable and then petrified him and started the ritual.

Not being able to move, not even turn his eyes, all Harry could see was the ceiling, and he could see that the house elves had made a nice work in returning it to a pristine state. He heard some chanting of what sounded like a foreign language and occasionally noticed a hand moving at the limits of his field of view. He didn't even have a clue to how long it was taking. And then, there was suddenly some stirring. His scar started hurting terribly and he could hear and see some visions, probably set by that piece of dark magic, yet it was all blurred due to the intense pain. Once again, he had no clue how long it lasted. He thought the pain would knock him unconscious, but it didn't.

Then, just as abruptly as it started, it all calmed down. Bill release Harry and then floated the old spoon out of the room. Hermione was immediately at his side. "How do you feel, Harry?" she asked, her voice choked with worry.

"I'm not sure. It hurt badly at the end. How long did it take?"

It was Molly who answered this time. "It took almost two hours. Now, let me heal your scar, since it opened at the end of the ritual." She waved her wand at him and he could feel his skin tightening slightly and then cleaned. "That's much better now, and there's only a faint line remaining where your scar used to be. With some luck, it will also fade," Molly sounded satisfied.

Hermione helped him sit up. He looked around and didn't see Sirius. "Where has Sirius gone?"

"He went with Bill to show him where he could safely finish the job," Hermione explained in her lecture tone. "The ritual only moved the Horcrux from the valuable item – you – to the discardable item – that old spoon. Now they're going to use Fiendfire to completely destroy it."

Harry felt surrounded by love and friendship. Hermione loved him, he knew, and Molly loved him in a very different way, and then the twins proved to be good friends. He'd never seen them so serious as when they joined the ritual. And there were the house-elves. He couldn't honestly say that Kreacher loved him or even liked him, although the old creature seemed to slightly mellow towards Harry. Dobby adored him, of that he had no doubt. He was quite sure that Dobby would even protect him with its life, if it ever came to that. In a way, Harry also loved his small friend.

By the time everybody finished asking how he felt and checked his scar, now barely visible, the two men returned. Bill looked satisfied, having finished an important task, but Sirius seemed still worried. He came to Harry and knelt on the carpet, to be at the same height. "How are you feeling, Harry? Did it hurt?"

"I'm feeling great, really, as if some burden I haven't been aware of was taken off me. It did hurt shortly at the end, but it's alright now."

Sirius seemed to lighten at once. "That's very good to know. Now, I suggest you enjoy your day. I'll have Bill check you again after dinner. We still have the library to cleanse."

The rest of the day was no different than the previous days, for Harry, except that he felt much happier than before. He suspected that the Horcrux, as Bill called it, had also affected his mood. Ron also seemed happier, not having his mother nagging at him to study most of the morning. He still tried to confront Harry. "Why didn't you let me take part in that ritual?"

Harry shrugged. "It wasn't my decision. Bill decided whom to include. He said you weren't good enough in following instructions. Do you think you are?"

Ron shook his head. "Nah! No fun in that." It looked to Harry like Ron judged everything by the "fun" it gave him. That didn't seem right even for a teenager. He wondered if Ron would ever change.

That afternoon, at training, Harry seemed to have improved in both aim and power. He wasn't sure if that was due to ridding himself of the Horcrux or just the improvement brought by constant training.

Bill took him aside after dinner, leading him to a small ante-room. "Let me check you over." Hermione kept holding his hand, as usual.

This time he didn't need to lie down. Bill checked his scar and his forehead both visually and magically and looked content. "The ritual worked as expected, and the addition of the house elves made it even more effective. I also found some other problems, unrelated to your scar, and I'd like to resolve them, if you agree."

"What have you found?" Hermione got worried once again.

Bill raised his hand in reassurance. "Nothing harmful. I found some monitoring and tracking charms and also a magical block that should have been removed four years ago."

"Can you explain?" Harry asked.

Bill sighed. "Every magical child tends to perform accidental magic. In some cases, it can really cause accidents, endangering the child and other people around him. Most magical families use a 'child block' charm to prevent such occurrences, as did your parents. It's normally removed before the child goes to Hogwarts. In your case, it should have been done by either the headmaster or the healer during the first week of school. Evidently, it wasn't. As your magic is much stronger now, it's dangerous to release it all at once. Fortunately, the proper way to release this kind of binds is also relevant in this case. Once cast, the charm will work gradually over a week, preventing any abrupt changes that could be dangerous."

Harry nodded understandingly.

"As for the other charms, they can be easily removed. I only wonder why Dumbledore cast them on you to start with."

"They were all cast by Dumbledore? What do they do?"

Bill waved his wand to diagnose them once again. "There's a locating tracker, a proximity alert, a health monitor and a magical core monitor. I suspect he wanted to assure your safety and your well being after he left you with your relatives."

"And a lot of good they did for me. Not."

Bill looked questioningly at him. Harry explained. "They didn't prevent Dudley and his gang from beating me, they didn't direct any help to me at the cemetery, two months ago, they didn't help identify a Death Eater, even when he touched me. I see no reason to keep any of them."

Bill nodded in agreement. He cast a few ending spells for the simple charms and then a more complex one for the binding. "Your magical powers will gradually grow and reach their correct level in about a week. I suspect that removing the Horcrux also gave you a slight increase, as it was like a leach, taking some of your powers to keep itself there. Luckily, whatever protection your parents put you under helped keeping it on the surface only. Without that protection, it would have probably possessed you as an infant."

Harry shuddered at the implications. It also showed how negligent Dumbledore had been about him, not that it was news for Harry.

This brought another thought to his mind. "Bill, do you mind checking the wards on Hermione's home and her parents' clinic? Dumbledore promised to ward them, but he's not an expert. I'll pay you, if you want."

Bill raised in hand in protest. "I can't take payment for helping friends and family. I'll go check there on my way home, if you give me the addresses. I currently live in a rented Muggle apartment, not far from Diagon Alley. It's more convenient than living with my parents, at my age."

Hermione was quick to write down both addresses and to thank him in advance. Harry felt content for doing the right thing. Besides, he knew that making Hermione happy was a sure way to make him very happy as soon as they retired to his room.


	10. Chapter 10

**10-Prefect**

Dumbledore came about an hour later, looking concerned. Harry was in the parlour, listening to Sirius's tales and cuddling with Hermione, when he heard the headmaster come in and ask Molly, who happened to be still in the kitchen, "Where's Harry?"

Molly didn't know what made the old man so agitated, but waved him to the other open door, "Over there."

As Dumbledore walked in, Harry could see some of the old man's concerns vanish, but not all of them. He practically ignored the other people. "Harry my boy, what happened to you about an hour ago? It seemed like you suddenly vanished."

Harry shrugged. "I just asked Bill to remove any charms cast on me. After last year, I can't be too prudent."

"But Harry, these were for your own good! You should have left them alone."

"Really? They didn't help me when my relatives abused me or when Dudley and his gang beat me badly; they didn't prevent death eaters from approaching me at school, or even Voldemort himself; they weren't used to bring me immediate help at the cemetery, only a few weeks ago. What were they good for? Only for you to feel as if you were doing something while doing nothing to really help me. I'm now free of them and I say good riddance!"

Harry could see that the old man was not content at all, yet he was trying to smooth his way back into Harry's confidence. He changed the subject slightly. "Why was Bill here?"

Sirius answered this time. "I asked Gringotts to send him to check the library for cursed books; well, to check the house for cursed items. It turned out that Harry was one of them." Dumbledore looked really worried now. "What do you mean?"

Sirius spoke nonchalantly, knowing the effect this would have. "Bill found a Horcrux inside Harry's scar and removed it. We later found another one in a necklace. Bill took it to the bank, to cleanse it there. Didn't you know that Voldemort had made a few?"

This seemed to have the effect of a kick in the guts. Dumbledore fell heavily on the nearest couch. "He removed a Horcrux from Harry? How could he do it without harming the boy?"

Sirius shrugged. "Ask him. It didn't even take very long, you know."

Harry didn't think that Dumbledore enjoyed hearing this, but he was good enough at not showing his feelings most of the time. He just sighed. "With all the monitoring stopped, I feared for the worst. Now, if you don't mind, an old man needs his rest. Goodnight."

Harry still asked both Hermione and Sirius to make sure that no new tracking or monitoring charms were cast on him. He was lately losing most of the respect he had for Dumbledore. He was glad that Hermione was in the same position, or it could have made it more difficult to be her boyfriend.

\/\/\/

The trial for Fudge and Umbridge was postponed time and again, as the DMLE kept finding more and more incriminating evidence, regardless of what the two confessed of during their initial interrogations. Harry let Sirius handle the damages claim. Actually, Sirius was now in contact with a lawyer that had already made the "kiss on view" order rescinded and was now working on clearing Sirius of all charges.

Unknown to most, the DMLE was also working diligently to arrest all the Death Eaters. Just to prevent premature suspicion, each was detained in a different way and for different excuses. By the time anyone made the connection, most would be arrested and unable to do anything. They were still unable to find Voldemort, as he seemed to be hiding under a Fidelius like protection. They were in no hurry, though. It was well known that without his supporters, even Voldemort was just a single person. As powerful a wizard as he was, a group of well-trained combat wizards were more than a match for him.

Harry, along with the other occupants of the house, were kept informed by Tonks. As Harry found out, she was related to Sirius, who was her Head of House. Harry didn't bother with the details. He still wondered if it was right for an Auror to tell others all that she kept telling. He then dismissed it. Evidently, Dumbledore approved of it and that gave her enough justification, even if Harry didn't think it was right.

\/\/\/

The school letters arrived a few days after they all moved to the house. Since no owl could find the house (not even Hedwig, as Hermione informed him that his owl was happily staying with her parents,) the letters were brought by Professor McGonagall. She asked first to privately speak to Harry, even before giving the letters.

"Mr. Potter, I'd like to inform you that although I wanted you to be the fifth-year prefect, the headmaster overruled my recommendation and decided to give the position to another boy. I'm really sorry for you."

"Whom did he choose? I think Neville could do good in this role. It can also help his confidence." Harry tried hard not to show that he was hurt by that. Dumbledore was keeping disappointing him, so it seemed.

McGonagall grimaced. "It's not Neville, although I agree with your sentiments. It's Mr. Weasley."

"Ron!? He'll let Hermione do it all and just abuse his position!" he then gave it another thought. "I assume Hermione is the other prefect, isn't she?"

The professor sighed and nodded, agreeing with Harry. She didn't understand what possessed the headmaster to give this position to a boy that was clearly unfit and undeserving for it.

"Well, that's what the headmaster decided, I have to follow his decision. I hope you understand."

Harry just nodded, wondering how long Hermione would be able to cover up for Ron. It certainly wasn't fair.

He followed his professor as she returned to the rest of the students and started giving the letters. When Hermione opened her letter, the prefect badge fell out. She grabbed it and turned to Harry. "Oh, I've been made prefect! We'll be able to patrol together, you and I."

Harry shook his head. "No, I was not made a prefect. Looks like Dumbledore doesn't want me in that position."

She looked puzzled. "Then who? You're certainly the best for that job."

Her question was answered as Ron cried out, "Hey, look, they made me prefect!"

Hermione seemed not to believe it. She checked Ron's badge as if checking for a prank. Once assured of its authenticity, she took her badge, looked at it sorrowfully, and handed it back to the professor. "Sorry, professor, but I can't accept the position. With Voldemort back, I need to spend as much time as possible to assure my boyfriend's survival."

Harry could see how much it pained her to act this way, but also how determined she was. Even her excuse was true enough, although the professor knew what the real reason was. Harry had said it very clearly only minutes earlier. She sighed and put the badge back in her purse.

Harry decided not to let the incident affect him, although Ron tried to make him jealous, flaunting his badge at any occasion. It only made Harry distance himself from the boy with whom he had been friends. He didn't like losing friends, as he didn't have many, but if Ron wasn't really a friend, there was nothing to lose.

Instead, he paid even more attention to Hermione. He knew how difficult it was for her to refuse the position. Although she wasn't studying so hard just for that reward, it was a kind of appreciation for her dedication. She really deserved it. Her refusing it for his sake showed him how much she cared for him. He swore in his heart to always do his best for her. He started that night, by giving her three fabulous orgasms, much better than any she had experienced before. It wasn't any sacrifice on his side either. He enjoyed making her orgasm and had his share too. The extra attention he was paying her was returned with interest.

\/\/\/

Dumbledore came for a visit at dinner. He enjoyed the meal but was mostly silent, only listening to what others had to say. Harry thought that one could easily see that Ron was drifting apart from him and Hermione. It wasn't even a conscious decision, but as Ron was only looking for "fun" while the others had more varied considerations, it was becoming unavoidable.

Dumbledore called them to a side room as soon as dinner was finished. He turned to Hermione first. "I'm very disappointed that you turned down the prefect position. I thought you were aiming for it all along. What happened?"

Hermione kept her expression aloof. "I expected the prefect position to be given based on merit. As such, I considered it a recognition of my efforts, my dedication and my success. When I found out that this wasn't the case, it lost its appeal to me. Now I don't think I like the extra burden such position imposes. I prefer to use any spare time I may have to help Harry survive Voldemort. It's much more important to me."

Dumbledore could read between the lines. He knew the real cause, but he still tried to address her 'official' concerns. "Why do you say it's not by merit? Having you chosen seems to contradict your words."

"What about having Ron chosen? No matter how you look at it, he's not a good student. He's never shown any dedication, nor respect for rules. If he's chosen, then I certainly am not. You can't choose us both with the same criteria." Hermione was clearly angry.

"Don't you think he deserves his chance to prove himself?" the old man asked.

"Of course he does. He can prove himself by studying harder, by spending more time on actually doing homework, by acting more maturely, not like he was still ten. That's how he should prove himself, before even being considered for such a demanding position."

"I thought you were friends," Dumbledore said with some disappointment evident in his voice.

"Of course we are, but that doesn't make us blind to his faults. Actually, the way he's lately acting, I'm not even sure if we can stay friends for much longer."

"Whom would you suggest, then?" Dumbledore thought this could serve as a trap.

She shrugged. "Harry is the obvious choice, of course, although I may be a bit prejudiced. Then there's Neville. He still has some problems with his confidence, but being chosen for prefect may help him in that aspect. He's a good and serious student and quite hard working. He can be a good example for the younger students. I still prefer Harry for the position, although it may leave him less time for training for combat."

"And why would he need training for combat?"

Hermione couldn't refrain from rolling her eyes. She knew it was impolite, especially when directed at older people, but the old man was acting really stupid. He simply deserved it. "Why, indeed? Don't you know that Voldemort is always targeting Harry? You've still not told him why, but that doesn't matter. He needs to be ready, much readier than he was during the third task, so that Voldemort would be beaten once and for all."

Dumbledore waved away the slight rebuke. "Do you want Harry to kill Voldemort?"

"As that beast seems hard bent on killing Harry, then that's the best way to stop it."

"Would you like to stain his soul with such deeds?"

"I'd rather have him a bit stained than not at all. Besides, killing in self-defence would not stain his soul, only killing in cold blood. You should know that!"

"But still, as he's at Hogwarts, he's safe enough. You know Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain."

"Is it? I was almost killed by a troll in the first year; I was petrified, barely escaping death, in the second year; I was attacked by Dementors during the third year. Does that sound like a safe place to you? If so, I don't think I can trust your judgment on safety."

Harry was quite impressed by her words, especially since she was verbally attacking Dumbledore, the epitome of a Light Wizard and the most prominent figure of authority. Dumbledore also seemed to be a bit stunned.

"I'm sorry that you feel this way. I'll see what I can do to improve security," he said.

"I'd start by enforcing the rules on both students and faculty without prejudices. A normal school would not keep a bad teacher, nor one who constantly insults his students. A normal school would enforce rules equally on all students and not let some do as they like. Start there and see how it goes."

Dumbledore knew what and who she was talking about, He had his reasons for the way he allowed certain things, but now he was no longer sure if those reasons were valid when leading a school. He certainly had a lot to think of if even this model student was finding him severely lacking.


	11. Chapter 11

**11-Intent**

Hermione was very agitated when Dumbledore left the room. She had never intended to speak so boldly, to admonish the headmaster like she was his superior. It didn't sit well with her deep respect for figures of authority, and yet all that she had said was true. It had even been said quite mildly, considering the events she had mentioned. She only hoped he'd take her words seriously and not dismiss them offhand, as he was often doing when anybody expressed ideas he didn't agree with.

Harry hugged her and talked softly to her, knowing exactly how she felt. He talked encouragingly, telling her it was right to speak that way, expressing her honest opinion, but mainly sounding supportive, regardless of the exact words. It took him some time to calm her down. She then latched on him, put her lips on his and started a long and passionate kiss, barely short of a snog.

A few minutes later, they parted slightly, Hermione still sitting on his lap. "I think it's time we go to bed. Don't you agree, dear?"

The way she talked and the way she moved her body against his left no doubt about her intentions. Harry agreed wholeheartedly. They only met Sirius on the stairs. He winked at them and waved them on, as if reading their minds.

\/\/\/

Ron seemed very pensive during breakfast. He then asked to talk to them and led them to the same side room they had used for the previous evening's discussion.

"Dumbledore came to me after your conversation," Ron told them. "He asked me about my plans for the future, about my studies and also how I felt about school. He then asked me what I knew about my new position, as prefect. After I told him what I knew, which isn't much, you know, he started telling me all that a prefect needs to do. It's insane, you know! It's not only leading firsties for a few days and patrolling a few times a week. It's so much more, that I wonder when a prefect is supposed to do homework, not to mention some relaxation, Quidditch or just a bit of fun. I told him I couldn't take the position and handed him back the badge."

He looked at them both, as if looking for approval, before going on. "He then asked me who I thought could do such a job well. I thought Hermione could do it. Then he asked about the boys. I told him you, Harry, would be good for that, except that you have Voldemort on your tail. He then asked me about Neville. I didn't think he could cope. He studies much harder than me but gets about the same grades. Any additional responsibility might crush him, I think."

Hermione seemed appreciative, "That's very mature of you, Ron. I wasn't sure you're capable of it already."

He didn't seem too offended. "Hey, I can be as mature as the next guy when I need to."

She smiled reassuringly at him. "Sure you can. It's only pity you don't act that way more often."

He shrugged. "There's no fun in that."

\/\/\/

Professor McGonagall arrived shortly before lunch. She seemed proud to present Harry and Hermione with their prefect badges. "As you both recommended Neville, I also checked his performance with more scrutiny. I'm sorry, but he's still not good enough for the position. I may reconsider him next year, when I expect you to take the Quidditch Captaincy. You know I like that trophy on my shelf." One could almost see a smile on her stern face.

Both accepted the badges gratefully. She then gave them each a copy of the prefect rules and guidelines. "Make sure to read them before the end of the vacation, as you may need the information during the train ride," she told them.

This time, Ron didn't seem upset, angry or envious. He only seemed relieved not to have that burden set on him. Harry was sure that seeing the size of the rules and guidelines book also helped.

\/\/\/

Being busy with studies in the morning, now including some of the books found in the Black library, and training in the afternoon, Harry had barely given a thought to what was happening outside their comfortable bubble. Things were changing there, and quite significantly at that.

With the minister and his undersecretary awaiting trial, the public tended to accept Dumbledore's warning about Voldemort. The swift actions taken against the Death Eaters and their most prominent supporters also gave credence to Harry's tale about Voldemort's resurrection. Harry was too preoccupied to really notice the change. Yet all that he heard was good news, as far as Harry was concerned.

There was some other news too, not quite as good. Bill came one evening, reporting on the Granger wards. "When I checked them, I found fire-repelling wards, that are really useful, as one of the common tactics used by death eaters is to seal a house and set it on fire, killing its occupants. Such wards can save lives. The other wards were not as useful. There was an anti-apparition and portkey ward, quite feeble, as I see it, and an alarm ward that could alert its caster of any attack on the warded area. I know Dumbledore is not an expert on warding, but I expected something more significant. The wards on the clinic were about the same."

"What can we do to enhance them?" Harry asked.

"Nothing. I took it upon myself to cast additional wards, to protect them against structural damage to the buildings and to stop all curses, except for the unforgivables. I also cast an intention ward to prevent everybody with harmful intentions from approaching the two buildings. A powerful wizard can probably overcome these wards, given enough time, but they could cause enough of a delay to allow her parents to escape or get some help. In addition, I also warded their cars as much as possible. I suggest you also give them a voice-activated portkey to a safe house, like this one, to complete the protection."

"Where can I get such a portkey?"

Bill smiled. "Gringotts can do that for a price, but you can ask Dumbledore to do that for free. I'm not licensed to create portkeys, or I would have done this myself."

Harry made sure to meet Dumbledore the next time he came to the house. He nagged him enough to make Dumbledore produce two portkeys for the Grangers. Remus was kind enough to take them to the clinic the next morning.

\/\/\/

With the summer vacation approaching its end, Hermione started to worry. "I don't want to go back to sleeping alone, and I'd really hate to give up our shags. What can we do?"

Harry chuckled, although he felt the same. "You're supposed to be the smart one. What do you suggest?"

Hermione bit her lip in concentration. "Had we been a bit older, we could just get married, you know. Although you haven't officially proposed yet, we've actually promised each other to stay together for the rest of our lives. Your house elves already consider me their mistress."

Harry gave it some thought. Since getting rid of the Horcrux, his mind seemed to function much better than before. "We can try to get magically wed. It should be good enough in the magical world."

"But how? Nobody will wed us until we're both of age."

Harry chuckled. "Isn't magic all about intent? We can exchange our vows in private and then shag. If we put enough intent in that, it will turn into a magical wedding."

Hermione considered his words and then smiled. "I believe it could work. Shouldn't we buy some rings, though?"

Harry was sure they could do that. "I've seen a few jewellery shops in Soho that stay open late, when we visited there last month. We can go there after dinner."

Harry managed to catch Sirius alone just before dinner and tell him about their plan. Sirius loved the idea. He only insisted on them being escorted by an adult. Remus volunteered and Tonks thought it would be nice to visit there too. Besides, she could pair with Remus, making them seem like a couple. Both were good enough at merging into the Muggle environment.

It was actually fun going there. Although they finished their business quite quickly, buying two simple gold wedding bands, they kept walking, window shopping, exchanging kisses and just having fun. Hermione also bought them a set of matching T-shirts, and Harry noticed that Tonks asked Remus to act the same way, especially about kissing. It only added to the fun.

They still returned to Grimmauld Place early enough to spend some time telling Sirius about their outing, making him chuckle at Remus's embarrassment. They then retired to Harry's room, where they were quick to get rid of their clothes. Harry put the two rings on the nightstand before asking Hermione to stand with him.

Standing face to face, Harry asked her, "Hermione Jean Granger, my love, are you ready to marry me now?"

"Yes, Harry James Potter, my love, I'm ready to marry you and become Mrs. Potter, to raise a family with you and to share my life with you for as long as we both shall live."

"And I'm ready to marry you and make you my beloved wife, Mrs. Potter, to raise a family with and to share our lives for as long as we both shall live."

He then took the appropriate ring and put it on her finger, stating, "With this ring, I thee wed."

Hermione took the other ring and repeated the same actions and words with him.

As they kissed to seal their private ceremony, a golden mist seemed to engulf them, turning into a bright flash before disappearing.

"I believe it worked," Hermione said happily. "Now we need to consummate our marriage."

Harry found the idea quite enticing, especially since they were already naked. They consummated their marriage several times before falling asleep, fully sated and very happy.

\/\/\/

The next morning didn't seem different than other mornings. They did their running, now extended to forty minutes with some strengthening exercises added. They showered (together, for a change, but still staying relatively innocent) and then descended for breakfast. It all stayed normal, until Ginny joined the group. It only took her one glance to notice Hermione's new ring, and another one to see Harry's.

"Does this mean that congratulations are in order?" she asked Hermione, pointing at her finger.

Hermione blushed and nodded. Unfortunately, Molly had overheard their short conversation. "What do you mean by 'congratulations'? It's not your birthday yet, is it?"

Hermione had to answer. "No, my birthday is in September. Ginny just congratulated me for my new ring."

"But it's just..." Molly finally understood what she was seeing. "...a wedding band? You're not married, are you? You're too young for that! It can't be allowed!"

Harry thought he shouldn't let Hermione carry the brunt of Molly's temper. "Actually, we're both married to each other, as our rings suggest. We did a private ceremony yesterday and it resulted in the golden fog and the flash that signify a magical wedding. So yes, Ginny, congratulations are in order."

This was the beginning of quite a chaotic morning. Molly couldn't comprehend such behaviour and certainly not accept it. She was also afraid that Ginny might take that as an example. She accused Sirius of letting the children get out of control and endangering their future. Sirius, of course, wouldn't let that pass. He told her she had no idea how youngsters thought and that she couldn't stop them even if she was in control. The twins enjoyed the chaos, adding their two knuts here and there, just enticing the participants.

The newlywed couple didn't pay it much attention. They quickly ate breakfast and then retired to their room to continue their regular studies. This time, they were interspersed with more kissing and cuddling than before, but they were in no hurry to sample some more of their marital bliss.


	12. Chapter 12

**12-In-Laws**

Sirius came a bit later to congratulate them and hear a bit more about how they bypassed the laws. He then smiled some more and told them, "I also have some news. My lawyer contacted me. I'm no longer considered a fugitive. It will be published on the first page tomorrow and is already in all the news broadcast on the WWN. At my request, I'll be publicly interrogated under Veritaserum to remove any doubt about my innocence."

Both teens hugged him. "This is great, Sirius. You will finally be able to get out and move about. Has Dumbledore helped you?"

Sirius frowned. "He said his hands were tied. I think that's bullshit. I still can't understand his motives, but he certainly has some agenda he's not telling us about."

"He's also keeping secrets from me. He won't tell me why Voldemort is so adamant to kill me," Harry noted.

Sirius didn't want to dwell on that. "Don't you think it's time to meet your in-laws?" he asked innocently.

Harry paled. With all that happened during this vacation, he forgot that marrying Hermione also meant getting her parents as in-laws. Now he had to face them and tell them that their daughter was magically married to him. He wasn't looking forward to that.

Hermione didn't seem to be affected, "We'll have to skip the afternoon training, I think, if we want to go by Muggle transportation, or… we may actually go after dinner by using the Knight Bus."

"One of the adults may also take you by side-along apparition, if you like. It's faster than the Knight bus but only slightly more comfortable. Don't eat too much at dinner, whatever way you choose to go," Sirius advised them.

"Can you take us?" Harry asked.

"My apparition skills are a bit rusty right now. I suggest Remus. He can easily find his way in the Muggle world and he can also give you protection, if needed."

They both agreed.

Lunch was interrupted by the arrival of Dumbledore. He looked like he was losing sleep lately and didn't seem pleased at all. After exchanging greetings, he put two enveloped in front of the couple. "Care to tell me about this?"

Both envelopes were already opened. The letters inside them were practically identical, congratulating the new couple for its registered marriage. Harry lifted his eyes to the headmaster. "I think it's very clear: Hermione and I are married, effective last night at about ten thirty. What's there to explain?"

Dumbledore sighed before talking. "Who conducted this irresponsible wedding?"

Harry shrugged. "Nobody. We just expressed our intentions clearly. Magic did the rest. Didn't one of the first lessons state that magic is mainly about intent?"

Dumbledore sighed again. He was evidently too bothered by other matters, and this was just too much to handle at the moment. "Does it mean that you need a married couple apartment at school? I believe there are some as part of the Gryffindor tower."

Hermione nodded approvingly. "We would be delighted to get to use one. It would make it easier for our prefect duties that we're still with the rest of the house."

Dumbledore nodded, "I'll let Minerva handle this before the start of term. Have a nice day."

Harry actually wanted to know how these letters arrived to Dumbledore although they were addressed to him and Hermione. He suspected this had something to do with the Fidelius, but he wasn't sure. He'd ask some other time.

It was quite a nice day for the newly-wed. The training session made Harry realize that his power had become much greater than before. He actually needed to be more careful not to overpower some spells. Hermione also seemed to gain some power. He wondered if it had something to do with their wedding.

Bill was waiting for them when they finished training. "As this house is unreachable by owl and I'm the only Gringotts employee with access to this house, they asked me to deliver these letters to Lord and Lady Potter. May I assume that's you?" his last words were addressed to Hermione.

Hermione seemed to suddenly turn self-conscious. She smiled shyly and nodded, making Bill smile too, before adding, "I suggest you read your letters and decide what to do. I can take your replies back or even escort you to the bank, if that's what you want."

Molly wouldn't let him continue. "They first need to shower and eat dinner. You should join us. You look a bit too slim. Then, if they go to the bank, they'll need an escort back as well. There's no reason to take avoidable risks."

For once, Harry fully agreed with her. He felt sweaty and smelly after the training session and he was quite hungry. Thinking of it, he was spending a lot of energy with his morning runs, his training and his bedtime activity. He could certainly use the bigger portions that the house elves were serving. Even Hermione seemed to eat more than usual, he noticed.

They took the letters and went to their room. After showering together, "to save some time," as Hermione excused it, Harry wanted to read his letter while Hermione was still debating what to wear for visiting her parents. His choices were very limited, so he didn't need to think much of that, although he was much more anxious. The Gringotts letter was simple. It congratulated them both for their marriage and urged them to take control of their assets on their earliest convenience.

"You may check my letter too," Hermione told him, putting on a flowery t-shirt.

Harry did as suggested, finding her letter identical to his. "I think we need to visit the bank. We should do it tomorrow, I believe, as we don't have much time before term starts."

"We still have more than a week," Hermione noted, "but you're right. We shouldn't leave it for the last moment. We'll talk with Bill and see if he can escort us, or maybe Remus."

The previous evening, when they visited Soho, neither Remus nor Tonks knew why the teens wanted to go there. They assumed it was just for fun. Now, when the Potters reached dinner, all present already knew of the wedding. Tonks was also there. "You don't do things halfway," she teased them.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Once you decided, you didn't bother with courting, betrothal and then marriage. You just got wed in an instant," she explained.

"We dated for about a month first," Hermione said indignantly.

"A whole month? Wow! It must have worn your patience quite badly." The teasing was evident.

"Well, we wanted to be together at school. This seemed the best way, since we've already promised to stay together for life," Harry said, as if that was self-evident.

"How did your parents take it?" Bill asked, unaware of their plans.

Hermione blushed. "We're going to tell them after dinner." She turned to Remus. "Will you side-along us there?"

Tonks jumped in. "You take Hermione and I'll take Harry. It's better to only take one, you know."

Harry was sure that she was mainly curious about that meeting. Well, maybe she also wanted to get closer to Remus. She seemed to show a lot of interest in the older man.

There was some more teasing and goodhearted banter at the dinner table. Remus also agreed to escort the couple to the bank the next morning. Tonks was unable to do the same as she was working at that time.

With dinner over, they donned light overcoats against the evening chill and then stepped out with Remus and Tonks. They needed to leave the ward boundaries for the apparition. A moment later, they found themselves in the public park, a short walk away from the Granger residence,

Hermione rang the doorbell. Despite having her own key, she knew her parents were not expecting her and they might be showing their love to each other, as they often did. It was safer this way, so she told Harry. Remus and Tonks just took their positions near the house and seemed to disappear,

Her mother opened the door and was surprised to see her. "Hermione! Is there anything wrong?"

Hermione smiled reassuringly. "Nothing's wrong, on the contrary. I have some very good news to share with you and Dad."

Her mother seemed to relax. "Oh, come in! And this must be your friend Harry, I believe."

Harry nodded as she waved them in. "Harry Potter, ma'am."

Hermione led him to the kitchen, where her father was sitting at the table, with the remains of dinner still visible, reading the newspaper. She didn't wait longer than it took him to put down the newspaper and look inquisitively at her. "Mom, Dad, I believe you've already seen Harry once or twice, but let me formally introduce my best friend, Harry Potter. Harry, these are my parent, Jean and Dave Granger."

Harry shook hands with her father and let her mother hug him, almost as tightly as she hugged Hermione. He wasn't sure what to do next, but Hermione seemed to have a plan.

"You already know that Harry also cares for your safety, just as much as he cares for mine. It was his initiative that made Dumbledore put some wards here, and Harry then sent Bill to make sure the wards were good enough. It may not surprise you, then, that he also took the next step. Since last night Harry is my husband, making you his parents-in-law."

It was funny, the way their expressions changed, but Harry didn't feel like laughing. He almost felt like running away, considering the expression on Dave's face, yet Dave didn't look at him. Dave looked sternly at his daughter, asking, "Care to tell me how come my daughter got married and I didn't walk her to the altar; I wasn't even present?"

Hermione wasn't bothered by his sudden frowns. "We had no official ceremony and I doubt you would have liked to be present. You see, we said our vows to each other and immediately consummated our marriage. It's still recognized by magic, as indicated by the letters sent to us by the Ministry and Gringotts. Besides, you'll have your chance to walk me to the altar after we reach adulthood, when we can officially marry in the non-magical world."

Dave didn't seem to like this answer, judging by his grimace, but his wife turned quite enthusiastic, hugging Hermione tightly, and then Harry, congratulating them warmly. She then looked at her husband, "Don't you think congratulations are in order?"

Dave sighed as he stood up. "It was evident since the first year that Harry was very special to you. I don't oppose to you being with Harry, I only oppose to you two marrying so young. Can you even live on your own?"

Hermione shrugged. "It doesn't even matter for now. Harry can live with me here during the vacation, and we don't need to worry about that until we finish Hogwarts. On the other hand, based on stories we've heard, it's more than probable that Harry has quite a substantial inheritance. His trust vault contains much more than enough gold to cover his tuition and his expenses during school, and that's probably only a small part of what he owns. We'll know more tomorrow, after visiting Gringotts."

This seemed to calm Dave down, as he congratulated the teens, although not as warmly as his wife. Hermione then showed her Gringotts letter. That seemed to raise some new questions.

"Are you really a Lord?" Dave asked Harry.

Once again it was Hermione who answered. "This title has a different meaning in the magical world. As the only living Potter, he's the head of his house, that's a Noble house in the magical world. Since our wedding emancipated us, he can now claim the title of Lord. It has nothing to do with the title in the mundane world."

Eventually, it all became clear. After a short while, Harry felt fully accepted by Hermione's parents. He wasn't sure, but he thought they were also starting to like him, at least. The Potters couldn't stay for long, though. It was already quite late, and they needed to visit Gringotts in the morning. The Granger parents hugged them goodbye, and Harry didn't feel like they hugged him any less warmly than they hugged their daughter.

Remus seemed quite delighted when the young couple came out, while Tonks looked like she still had some unfinished business. They took the teens back to Grimmauld place, where the young couple thanked them both before retiring for the night. Just before joining his wife in bed, Harry thought that the visit went quite well, despite his worries earlier.


	13. Chapter 13

**13-Gringotts**

Remus was waiting for them when they reached the breakfast table, the next morning, seeming to be in a very good mood. Harry wondered what had happened between him and Tonks to give Remus such a good mood. On second thought, he didn't really need to know.

Bill joined them a few minutes later. "There are many unused rooms here, and Sirius invited me to stay here for the night. I must say it was more comfortable than staying in my rented apartment. Don't tell my mother, though," he told them, after checking that his mother wasn't near yet.

"Sure! You don't need to cook your own breakfast here," Harry teased him.

Bill grimaced. "Don't remind me of my cooking. Unlike my mother, I seem to have absolutely no talent at that. Mum tried to teach me, but gave up after I almost burned her kitchen."

They didn't spend much time talking, though. They all ate quickly and then left for Gringotts. Bill excused himself, hurrying to his office, while Remus escorted the teens to a free teller. Harry silently presented his letter when the Goblin teller raised his eyes in question. One glance at the letter seemed to suffice. "Lord and Lady Potter, your account manager is eager to meet you. Let me escort you to his office."

The Goblin jumped down of his stool and marched quickly through a side door, the teens trying not to lag behind him. They stopped in front of a door that seemed indistinguishable from the others in that corridor. Only on second glance did Harry notice a minuscule house crest at the upper corner, one he recognized as his own. The teller knocked politely on the door, and then opened it, after hearing a kind of grunt in response, announcing, "Lord and Lady Potter here to see account manager Sharpclaw."

As they stepped through the open door, Harry noticed that the office they were walking into was quite elegant and the Goblin standing at the desk seemed much older than the tellers. He was also dressed in a much higher quality business suit and had some medal pinned on it. Sharpclaw waved his arm invitingly, pointing at the two comfortable chairs in front of the desk and waited for the teens to sit down before sitting on his own chair.

Harry put the letter on the desk and pushed it towards Sharpclaw, who smiled with a closed mouth. "I can see that our letters were delivered," he said. "Let me first congratulate you for your marriage. It's quite an extraordinary event when such young people become married. We couldn't detect any additional bond that could explain this. Care to satisfy the curiosity of this old Goblin and tell me how it happened?"

Even without looking at her, Harry was sure that Hermione wasn't glad to retell the story, but he felt the need to tell it, if only to stay in good relations with this specific Goblin, who handled his assets. "We've been good friends since the first year at Hogwarts, and our friendship slowly grew into much more. This summer we started dating, and then we became even closer after we moved to stay at a safe house. We then promised each other to stay together for the rest of our lives. Knowing we would be separated in different dormitories during school term, we tried to think of a way to stay together, and that brought the idea of marriage, We exchanged our vows in private, but Magic accepted them, making us officially wed."

Sharpclaw nodded understandingly. "And the rest just came naturally, I assume. Very good. It shows how magically powerful you two are. Most wizards and witches could do that as many times as they liked and it would still not be accepted as marriage. It makes me feel privileged to work with you two."

It took most of the morning to go over all the Potter holdings. Harry felt overwhelmed by the large numbers and Hermione fared only marginally better. "I expected you to be rich, after hearing all those stories, but I never thought you'd have that kind of money.

She then turned to Sharpclaw. "Is Harry the richest man in Britain?"

Sharpclaw shook his head with a controlled smile. "Two other wizards are about as rich as him. The top position may change daily, depending on their expenses and their profits, but they're just about the same. Then, the Queen and a few Muggles are supposed to be richer, although I can't say by how much."

"Can't we use some of that to make some changes in the Magical world?" Hermione insisted.

The Goblin shook his head sadly. "Magical Britain is extremely conservative and very hard to change. It would be mostly a waste of money to try to use it that way. On the other hand, you may acquire control over the Daily Prophet and the WWN, thus having a chance to influence many people. Don't expect them to change much, though."

Hermione seemed appalled by the situation. She still thanked Sharpclaw for his advice.

The Goblin had another topic to raise. "Lord Potter, due to the war at the time your parents got married, we had no chance to check your mother's ancestry. The purebloods tend to forget that practically every magical family has Muggle ancestors, just as every Muggle family has magical ancestors, although one may need to look many generations back to find them. I'd like to check your ancestry, so we can see if your mother had some interesting ancestry. I'd also advise you, Lady Potter, to do the same. Who knows, we may even find another dormant vault waiting for you."

Harry could see Hermione's interest rise. He even let her do the ancestry test before him. She grimaced as she pricked her finger for some blood, but seemed determined to do it. Harry didn't like pricking his finger either. Luckily, the small cut was healed even before the parchment that absorbed his blood started to do its magic. Both teens looked with fascination as the family trees of each started drawing themselves on the parchment. Unfortunately, the writing was in the Goblin language, making it unintelligible to them.

They waited until there were no more changes on the parchments. Sharpclaw waved his arms over both parchments, making a copy of each appear. Both copies were sporting English writing along with a large "Certified Gringotts Copy" stamp at the top.

While the teens were looking at their copies, Sharpclaw studied the originals. "As expected, Lord Potter, there's no surprise on your father's side. You've inherited the Potter lordship, that also includes the Peverell and Gryffindor ones, merged centuries ago. Your mother's side is quite surprising, though. It looks like the Evans family descended from a squib daughter of Slytherin, thus making you Lord Slytherin. There's not much money in that vault, I assure you, but you may find some interesting books and artefacts in there."

"I thought Voldemort is the Slytherin heir," Harry blurted.

Sharpclaw shook his head. "The Gaunt family has never been Slytherin's descendants. They inherited a branch of that line by conquest, but were never related to the famous wizard. Besides, by defeating him as a baby, you've also inherited the Gaunt line, although its vault was closed long before you were born. You may even have a claim for the Riddle assets in the Muggle world. You may need to consult a solicitor for that."

While Harry's mind seemed unable to absorb this new information, Sharpclaw turned to Hermione. "As you can see, you also have some Magical ancestors. You're a direct descendant of Ravenclaw through your mother's line. That family had the titles passed through the females of the family. The Ravenclaw vault is not large, but it still has quite a bit of gold and a large library. You may also claim the Ravenclaw seat in the Wizengamot."

Hermione seemed dazed by the information. Harry felt quite sure it was mostly due to the library in there. She still managed to ask, "How come you have vaults of the Hogwarts founders? I was taught that Gringotts is a few hundred years younger than Hogwarts."

Sharpclaw smiled again, seeming pleased. "Clan Gringotts used to offer some services for fees way before the bank proper was founded. You can say we were bankers way before the term 'Bank' even existed."

Hermione seemed pleased with the explanation.

Sharpclaw continued. "I suggest that you take a bottomless money bag, connected to your vault. When in use, it will give you any amount of money in the correct currency, as long as your vault has the appropriate amount."

"Can Hermione have one too?" Harry asked.

Sharpclaw looked surprised. "Most of our customers only give their wives very limited access to their accounts."

Harry shrugged. "We're partners in life. We share everything. I want her to have exactly the same access rights as I have."

Sharpclaw nodded appreciatively. "I also suggest that you make a will. A man in your position is expected to have a will and update it whenever the need arises. Otherwise, if you die of any reason, the Ministry will try to seize the vaults."

"I'll have one before we go back to Hogwarts. With Voldemort back, I need to take all precautions. Does this mean that my parents also left a will?"

Sharpclaw sighed. "They did. It was written while they were expecting you. They may have had a newer one, but it has never been filed with Gringotts. Now, I suggest you go to visit your vaults and take your Lord and Lady rings. It could be useful to take all of them, since the multitude of rings may have a political significance, despite not gaining you more seats," he advised.

Harry looked at Hermione. She clearly wasn't looking forward to the ride in the cart, but her thirst for knowledge was too great to let that obstacle stop her. 'That's my Hermione,' he thought fondly.

They first visited the Ravenclaw vault. It contained about as much gold as his trust vault, but that was less than a third of its contents. The rest was filled with books. They crammed all the shelves and stacked in the passages. Some stacks had probably been too high to stay stable and toppled over, mixing with the gold coins. "We'll need to clean this up and sort the books before we can even try to read them," Hermione said, sounding a bit sad that she couldn't delve into that knowledge immediately. Luckily, the Ravenclaw ring was on a small table near the door, easily seen and accessed. Hermione took it and put it in her purse, not feeling like she already deserved to wear it.

They next visited the Slytherin vault. It wasn't much larger than the previous one, but contained, except for the slightly less gold and the fewer books – most of them illegible to Hermione, but easily readable for Harry – quite a few artefacts, mostly swords, daggers, shields, armours and other fighting equipment. Harry found the Slytherin ring and slipped it on his finger.

As soon as it rested on his finger, Harry felt a boost of power, as if the ring was pouring power into his core. He then saw a ring of light rising around him, stopping occasionally with some colourful flashes. It seemed fascinating, and he wasn't sure what they meant, but it didn't feel threatening.

He changed his mind as the light advanced. He felt like it was stabbing his body with extremely fine and painful needles. The pain grew rapidly. He tried to remove the ring, but it wouldn't budge. He saw Hermione panicking and then knew no more.

When he opened his eyes, he was back in Sharpclaw's office, where a bed had been placed and he was resting on it.

Hermione was at his side, looking worried, but not panicky. "You gave me quite a fright," she told him.

"What happened?" he asked.

Sharpclaw replied. "The Slytherin ring is enchanted to help your magic fight any spells cast on you and to heal any injury. It found some old untreated injuries and tried to heal them. As you had quite a few such injuries, it caused the pain. Lady Potter alerted us to the situation and it was promptly handled by our healers. They found quite a few broken bones that never healed correctly. With some additional magic, the ring was able to finish its task."

"What else did that ring do?" Harry asked.

"We're not sure. It should have healed whatever needed healing. You should be able to feel the difference within a few days. How do you feel now?"

Harry tried to check himself while still in bed. He stretched his arms and his legs, moved every joint just a bit and also moved his head. "I think I'm fine now," he finally said.

Hermione helped him to sit, still looking attentively for any sign of pain or weakness, and then to stand up. Once satisfied, she turned to Sharpclaw. "Shouldn't we go to the Potter vault now?"

Sharpclaw shook his head. "While waiting for Lord Potter to regain his conscience, I had someone bring the Potter rings here. You may visit the vault when you have more time. It's about four times as large as both the other vaults combined."

Harry really didn't feel like going back to the cart ride and he was sure Hermione felt the same. "Sure. It's almost lunchtime and our escort is waiting. We'll visit that vault another time. We just want to thank you and the other members of Gringotts for helping us and keeping our investments safe."

As he put the Potter ring on, another circle of light appeared. This one didn't hurt at all and scanned him quickly before vanishing.

"The Lady should also put her rings on," Sharpclaw noted.

Hermione did so quite reluctantly, putting the Ravenclaw ring first. She was scanned just like Harry, and the light slowed twice, but caused no pain. The Lady Potter ring scanned her again, not even slowing once.

Remus looked quite anxious by the time they returned to the lobby. "What took you so long?"

Harry chuckled. "It wasn't as long as we probably needed, but we didn't want to spend the whole day there. We'll tell you more when we're back."

Remus sighed, and then walked with them to the nearest apparition point and took them back to Grimmauld Place. Diagon Alley was not a safe place for them.

* * *

**A.N.** The summer is ending and this story approaches its end. Only one more chapter to go.


	14. Chapter 14

**14-End of Summer**

None of the students residing at Grimmauld Place went for shopping at Diagon Alley. For security reasons, the adults decided to keep them away from that busy street, where they were too well known. Molly, with the help of Arthur, Remus, and Tonks, took care of all the shopping for school. The only problematic issue seemed to be the school robes, as they all needed new sets to fit their changing bodies.

"Dobby can resize any clothes," the enthusiastic house elf exclaimed when he heard about that. While not fully content to make a house-elf work for her family, Molly had to agree that it really was a good idea. She took the measures of all the children and bought robes that were a bit larger, both to allow for some growth and to make sure Dobby would not lack material for adjusting sizes.

It turned out alright, they all agreed, and Dobby seemed to have a lot of fun when adjusting the clothing. "You's may call Dobby to make more changes when at school, if you need them larger or fitter. Dobby likes changing clothes."

Once they got their books, Hermione started reading them attentively, as expected. This time, Harry did the same. Only Ron complained. "You're both burying yourselves in books and I have nothing to do. What kind of friends are you?"

"We're the kind of friends who want to do well in their studies. Isn't that why we go to school in the first place?" Harry replied.

"Well… it is, but that's no fun. Besides, we'll have time enough to read them at school," Ron insisted.

Harry knew how to respond. "Have you finished reading all the books from last school year?"

"Of course not!" Ron sounded indignant. "I only read what we had to, for class. Mostly."

"So, you had your parents spend their money for nothing, not even bothering to read these books? Shame on you!"

"It's no fun reading school books!" Ron retorted with his usual reply.

Harry turned serious. "Ron, school is not mainly for fun. School is for learning and preparing us for the future. No matter what you think you're going to do, life tends to put us on different roads than we plan, as my life shows. Life may also present you with new opportunities. It would be a pity to not be able to take them due to a lack of knowledge that you should have learned at school."

Ron seemed to give that a reluctant consideration. Harry pressed on. "Besides, with Voldemort at large, I can't let myself lack knowledge. Anything I miss may turn out to be crucial. I can't risk it."

Ron sighed. "Well, I can see why you take it so seriously, but I'm not ready for that. It's no fun spending all my time on studies.

Harry just looked exasperatedly at him and rejoined Hermione. "You knew it was going to be just a waste of time, didn't you?" she noted.

"I knew, but I still had to try. He's still our friend and I care for him." Harry sounded both apologetic and determined.

She shrugged. "With such an attitude, I'm not sure he can stay our friend for much longer. If he drifts any further in his studies, he may become a liability that we can't afford, not with Voldemort lurking around. We may be better befriending Neville or some students from other houses."

Harry sighed. "You're probably right, but I'd hate to lose a friend."

"So would I," she assured him.

\/\/\/

Time seemed to pass quickly, although very effectively. Their training advanced nicely. Physically, the Potters were fit enough to climb the stairs to the attic and come back to ground floor three times in a row before starting to breathe heavily. Ron could barely do it once. Their battle training was also going well. By the end of August, they could easily use the most powerful shields or conjure solid objects to shield against the unforgivables. Their arsenal of curses and hexes was much larger than a few weeks earlier, although nowhere near what they would have liked it to be. Both were also able to pour much more power into their casting. While Harry was much more powerful, more powerful than all the adults they were training with, Hermione's power was also growing nicely. They were still wondering about what could cause that change in her.

As August was reaching its end, Hermione thought it was time for packing. "I can't see how I could fit all the books I'd like us to take in such small trunks. Can't we find trunks like the one you told me fake Moody had, one with several magically enlarged compartments?"

Harry smiled at her. "That's an excellent idea! The only problem is that we may need to go to the Alley for that, and you know how they keep us protected."

Hermione wouldn't be deterred. "We're emancipated, so they have no right to hold us here against our will. Besides, I think we need to take a few more books from our vaults, so we may need to go to Gringotts anyway."

Sirius wasn't thrilled with the idea, but he knew better than to stand between Hermione and her books. "I'll ask Remus and Tonks to escort you. Use glamours wherever possible, to not be recognized." He gave them each a necklace with a dog pendant. "These are voice-activated portkeys to take you here when you say my animagus name. I made them using some secret family magic that's supposed to make them function even where there are anti-portkey wards. Keep them on at all times, once you leave this house."

The teens accepted the necklaces with thankful smiles and hugged him tightly. Harry knew that although Sirius liked the hugs and seemed to be satisfied with their protection, he would still be very anxious until they returned.

They started with the trunk shop, buying two five-segment trunks with all security and comfort enhancements. They could hold the contents of a full house and still stay not much heavier than the weight of the wood used to build the trunks. Harry's trunk had the fifth segment similar to Moody's – containing a fully furnished apartment that could come handy in emergencies, or just to get some peace and quiet when needed. Both trunks could also be shrunk and made lighter by tapping one's wand to the handle.

With the shrunk trunks in their pockets, Hermione was enthusiastic to visit their vaults and fill her trunk with books. Well, only three compartments. She decided to save the remaining two for her clothes and school stuff, that now filled her old trunk to the brim.

Harry also took quite a few books, mainly from the Slytherin vault. He thought that such books, only readable by a parselmouth, might contain certain information not otherwise found.

\/\/\/

They spent the next day packing most of the rest of their stuff, only leaving out some clothes and books that they needed for the remaining two nights.

"What did you do in your rooms for so long?" Ron asked when they finally joined the others, only a short time before they all needed to retire for the night.

"We packed for school. You should also pack ahead of time," Hermione told him.

"Why should I? We still have two more days of vacation. We shouldn't waste them on school stuff. There's no fun in that." It made Harry feel like Ron was distancing himself another pace with that answer.

"Ron, as Prefects, we need to be early at the train station. We can't afford to wait for you to pack at the last moment. If you want to come with us you'd better have it all packed by tomorrow night. Otherwise, somebody will need to take you side-along when you're ready, or you may even miss the train," Harry told his stubborn friend.

"I'm mostly packed already," Ginny said.

"Our trunks are packed too. We only left out what we need handy until we leave," the twins said.

Ron felt a bit cheated by his siblings. "Alright, alright! I'll make sure to pack everything before going to bed tomorrow." He then muttered something under his breath. Harry was almost sure it was, "although there's not any fun in that."

They had their last training session for the summer the next day. Remus seemed very pleased with them, although he refrained from praising them too much. "You've advanced quite nicely during the few weeks we had for training. I expect you to continue training on your own during the school term."

He then turned to the whole group. "I'm pleased to say that all of you made some progress with this training. While every one of you has a place for improvement, each is much better prepared for the fight that may come sooner than any of us would like. I suggest that you all keep training, both physically and magically, so you'd be in top condition, whenever the need arises."

A bit later, during dinner, Sirius informed them of the arrangements for the next day. "I've rented a minibus with a chauffeur to take you all to the train station, Muggle style. Remus, Tonks, Molly and Arthur will be your guards. The driver is a squib, but you should still refrain from using any magic there. We shall make sure to lighten your trunks before you leave. The minibus will be waiting near no. 14 at ten o'clock and will leave fifteen minutes later, to account for the traffic. Make sure you're on it before that time." His eyes stayed firmly on Ron, who squirmed a little in his seat.

"The Granger couple will be probably waiting for you there," Sirius added, looking at the Potter couple. Unknown to them, he had called the Granger clinic one morning, using his animagus form to safely leave the house and reach a far enough phone booth. He knew how important this short meeting would be for all involved.

After dinner, the Potters joined Ron in his room, making sure that everything was packed, leaving out only his pyjama and the clothes he would need in the morning. Dobby had already promised to clean and pack the clothes they were all wearing during the night.

\/\/\/

The first morning of September was a busy morning. Harry and Hermione had their morning exercises, although nobody else seemed inclined to do that, showered, changed and were ready for breakfast even before Ron woke up. Only the smell of sausage and egg brought him to the kitchen, groggily rubbing his eyes. Due to everybody else pushing him, Ron was able to get ready and board the minibus just on time.

As expected, it took more than half an hour to reach Kings Cross station. By the time they reached platform nine, it was almost eleven. Hermione spotted her parents and ran to hug them, letting Harry follow more leisurely. With the hugs and greetings over, Jean looked at them critically. "You both look happy. I think you're also fitter. How can that be?"

Hermione smiled happily. "Oh, we're exercising each morning, the way Daddy usually does, and we're training our other abilities each afternoon. That should explain our physical fitness. I hope we can keep training that way at school too."

Jean smiled. "Don't forget to also have some fun. It's expected at your age."

"Oh, we have lots of fun together," Hermione told her, making Dave grimace. "Besides, Ron seems to judge everything only by how much fun it gives him. As long as he's our friend, he won't let us forget that."

"Is there a problem there?" Dave asked, somewhat worriedly.

Hermione sighed. "Well, with such an immature attitude, I'm not sure we can stay friends for much longer, unless he grows up a bit."

They didn't have time for much more talking. The Weasley were passing through the barrier and they had to do that too. Some more hugs and greetings were exchanged and then the young couple passed through the barrier.

"We should wear our Prefect badges now," Hermione reminded Harry.

"Already done," he said, pointing at the badge on his shirt pocket.

They first mounted the train, leaving Crookshanks and Hedwig with their friends, and then descended and went near the barrier, ready to help any first-year students, and even older ones.

As Harry was standing there, holding his wife's hand, he was thinking back on his summer. Despite the way it had started, with Voldemort returning and Cedric killed, it turned out to be a good summer for him. Of course, the Dementors kissing his relatives wasn't something good either, but he didn't feel like their demise was any loss for humanity in general, nor for him, personally.

Then there was Hermione, without whom he could no longer contemplate his life. She brought joy and love into his life, and a lot of fun, although Ron might not be able to understand that. Studying with her was no chore – it was fun, for him. And there was the physical aspect as well, one he could only talk about with her.

Of course, Sirius and Remus also helped make this summer much more significant, come to think of that. He was glad Sirius was going to get his trial soon and become a free man again.

Still, what he was really looking forward to was sharing his life with his wife. He knew there would be difficulties. He knew they had a war ahead. He still didn't think these would change anything, as long as he had Hermione at his side.

Some more students were passing through the barrier. Harry let his mind come back to the present. He had a job to do and he would do it to the best of his ability. As for the future – he'd worry about it later.

With that determination, he smiled at the younger students and welcomed them for the new term, along with Hermione. For a while, all was well.

**End**

_**A.N.** Summer ends and so does this story. I know that many of you would like it to continue. I may write a sequel some time in the future, but don't hold your breath. With more than thirty (yes, 30!) stories in various stages of writing, I almost have to fight new ideas from distracting me while trying to finish other stories. Still, if you want certain things to happen in that possible-maybe-sequel, then write to me and I'l try my best._


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